SAN FRANCISCO – Locked in a low-scoring, defensive battle with Bay Area rival Holy Names for the majority of their non-conference contest, Academy of Art men's soccer pulled in front midway during the second half on a strike from junior midfielder Gilly Miller and never relented, securing a third consecutive shutout victory by a 1-0 final on Wednesday. 

"Today was a great example of a team performance and a commitment to earning a win," said ART U Head Coach Danny Kirkland. "We knew the game today would be a battle, and both collectively and individually, we stood up to the challenge of HNU. We were solid defensively and have to be pleased with another clean sheet."

Both teams came out with intensity from the opening kickoff, and though each team would threaten with offense inside their attacking zone, chances were limited in the first half as the two teams combined for only five shot attempts. It was the Urban Knights (3-3-1) who put one of their chances on target when sophomore defender Chris Stokes had a great header attempt, forcing a save by the Hawks' (1-2-3) goalkeeper to keep the match level. 

The fast pace continued in the second frame with Academy of Art continuing to hold the slight edge, including a pair of shots on goal from both Stokes and Miller that required a pair of saves, the second of which was a sliding save by an HNU defender that was credited with a team save. Unfortunately for Holy Names, it only delayed the inevitable as ART U was awarded a free kick minutes later following a foul just outside the 18-foot box.

The resulting free kick was labeled into the top left corner by Miller, as his team-leading fourth goal of the season eventually became the game-winner serving as the only tally in the match (second game-winning goal his campaign). Dating back to last season, Miller has scored a total of six goals over his previous 12 matches, producing a total of 17 points over that time (five assists). 

Defense was still necessary to close out the match, as Holy Names took four of its six second-half shots in their pursuit to draw the match even. Only one of the attempts found their way on goal, as senior goalkeeper Davis King denied the chance to preserve his third consecutive clean sheet. King has now not allowed a goal in 292 minutes of game action dating back to the match against Cal State East Bay, with a total of six saves over that span.

For Academy of Art, this is the eighth season in program history with at least three shutout victories, though it is the first such season doing so since 2017. It is also the first time in program history that ART U has recorded three consecutive clean sheets. The program record for clean sheet victories in a single season is four which ocurred in 2014, while the overall record for most shutouts in a season is five which has happened twice, taking place in consecutive campaigns in 2015 and 2016.

By the end of the match each team had taken a total of eight shots, but the Urban Knights put five of theirs on goal compared to just the one for the Hawks. Miller led all shot takers with three, all of which were on goal, while redshirt freshman forward Elvis Mensah fired two of his own.

"HNU is a really difficult team to break down, and it was always going to take something special to get the goal in front, thankfully Gilly Miller provided that late in the game for us," Kirkland said. "Now we turn our attention to the upcoming Hawaii trip to continue this momentum."

The Hawaii swing for ART U begins on Sept. 26, as Academy of Art will open Pacific West Conference play with a trio of matches in six days against Hawaii Pacific, Chaminade, and UH Hilo.