Match #1
ART U Urban Knights (0-0) vs. Cal State Monterey Bay Otters (0-0)
Thursday, September 5, 2024 at 3 p.m.
Seaside, Calif. – Cardinale Stadium
Live Stats | Live Video

The forthcoming 2024 campaign for Academy of Art men's soccer is set to combine some of the team's top returners at multiple positions with a sizable influx of new student-athletes at every stage of their collegiate careers all for Head Coach Danny Kirkland's third year at the helm.

On the road for six of its first seven matches, ART U navigates a total of 17 contests in 2024 first with Cal State Monterey Bay (Sept. 5) in Seaside followed by MSU Denver (Sept. 14) in San Francisco then St. Mary's (Tex.) (Sept. 19) and St. Edwards (Sept. 21) both in Texas. September's non-conference play wraps up with Stanislaus State on Sept. 25 back in the Bay Area before a three-part Pacific West Conference road trip to Hawaii features UH Hilo (Oct. 1), Chaminade (Oct. 4), and Hawaii Pacific (Oct. 6). Biola (Oct. 10) represents the Urban Knights' first home PacWest opponent with Dominican (Oct. 17) and Fresno Pacific (Oct. 19) coming thereafter. The final non-conference matchup is with Cal Maritime (Oct. 23) before the month closes with Menlo (Oct. 26) and Jessup (Oct. 30). Leading up to the inaugural PacWest Conference Championship Tournament (Nov. 14 and 16), Academy of Art will host Westmont (Nov. 2), Azusa Pacific (Nov. 4), and Point Loma (Nov. 9) on Senior Day.

Numerous years of experience can be seen with senior defender Chris Stokes joining incoming transfers defender Elijah Cofer and graduate student forward Guilherme Benites da Silva from Azusa Pacific and Salem University respectively. Stokes begins his final season having started all but one of his 32 career matches played as a Knight while logging the team's third-most minutes on the pitch last year. Cofer contributed to five clean sheets for the Cougars in 2023 while Benites da Silva highlighted his time with the Tigers by scoring a hat trick in his first match.

A total of eight juniors are split down the middle with goalkeeper Thomas Plowman, forward Elvis Mensah, defender Teo Benedick, and midfielder Guilherme Gomes all returning to help welcome in forwards Adrian Lechuga, Kristian Lonvig, and Fabrizio Garrido plus midfielder Abraham Jasso. Mensah, who was second on team in minutes played in 2023 and one of three Knights to start all 18 matches, looks to continue a stellar ART U career that has him currently ninth in program history in career points (24) and goals (7) as well as fifth in career assists (10), just five from the record.

Academy of Art offers a sophomores class with many familiar faces as midfielders Joey Glaab, Xander Cleaves, and Heath Nager plus defender Brody Duff all return along with new defender Christian Lechuga. On the pitch quite a bit in 2023, Glaab led team in both minutes and with six goals, earning himself All-PacWest Second Team honors while joining Duff as one of three Knights to start all 18 matches. Lechuga rejoins his brother, Adrian, as a tandem both transferring from Eastern Illinois.

Returning forward Audie Garza mixes with incoming goalkeeper Florian Grollmann, midfielders Andrea Mercanti and Keita Goto, and defenders Kaleb Carrasco and Tommy Huang all looking to make their collegiate debut this season. Standing out among the group's accomplishments are Carrasco's three First Team All-League selections, All-Area Team honor, and Most Outstanding Athlete award.

With experience and talent up and down the roster, the Urban Knights step united into 2024.