AUSTIN, Tex. – Freshman midfielder Keita Goto was the hero for Academy of Art men's soccer in their match against St. Edward's on Saturday, as the Shizuoka, Japan native's first collegiate goal was all the Urban Knights needed to take down the Hilltoppers with a 1-0 final score.

"We're really pleased to be leaving Texas with this win," said Head Coach Danny Kirkland. "We got off to a slow start in the first half but made some adjustments at half time and implemented our game plan well in the second half."

SEU, who have now dropped to 1-3-1, had their feet on the gas in the first half, as the squad took a total of 15 shots against the Knights' defense, but could never manage to see one get past redshirt freshman goalkeeper Florian Grollmann. A total of 12 shots in the opening frame were unable to make it on target for the Hilltoppers, making Grollmann come out of the first 45 minutes with three saves to no goals allowed. 

Just 10 minutes into the second half, Goto struck his shot at the top-center of the net from the middle of the box to give his team the 1-0 lead, the eventual final score, making his goal the first game-winner for ART U this season, and just the second goal scored on Kaleo Francis of St. Edward's in 2024. The Hilltoppers responded with eight more shots after the fact, but once again could not get the majority to fall on target with Grollmann locking down the opposing three. Junior midfielder Guilherme Gomes got an additional shot on goal for the Knights within the second half, but Francis collected the save to keep the deficit just within one.

"The conditions down in Austin made it a tough place to play and SEU threw a lot at us, but our guys stuck to their tasks and displayed some excellent defensive qualities and desire to keep the clean sheet," Kirkland said.

Next week, ART U, who improved to 1-2-1, will see one more non-conference match before Pacific West Conference action as they'll take on Stanislaus State at home on Sept. 25 with an 11 a.m. kickoff.

"It was a huge team effort and everybody played their part in this win," Kirkland said. "Now our focus turns to recovery and preparing for another tough test against Stanislaus on Wednesday."