GAME #12
ART U Urban Knights (5-6, 4-4) vs. Dominican Penguins (0-8-1, 0-5)
Thursday, Oct. 7, 2010 at 11:00 AM
San Francisco, CA – Boxer Stadium
GAME #13
ART U Urban Knights (5-6, 4-4) vs. NDNU Argonauts (7-2, 4-1)
Saturday, Oct. 9, 2010 at 2:00 PM
San Francisco, CA – Boxer Stadium
Game Notes
KNIGHTS RETURN FROM HAWAII HUNGRY FOR MORE
The Academy of Art University men's soccer team could not have asked for a better trip to Hawaii. Highlighted by a Pacific West Conference record five goals in one match by junior forward and PacWest Player of the Week Andrew "Boomer" Cruz, the Urban Knights' road swing included four victories with a variety of heroes. A four-game homestand begins for ART U on Thursday of this week.
OPENING KICKOFF
In their first match following the Hawaii trip, the Knights face Dominican on Oct. 7 at 11:00 AM. Two days later, the homestand continues with matchup against Notre Dame de Namur on Oct. 9 with kickoff set for 2:00 PM. Both matches will take place at Boxer Stadium. Live score updates for all matches can be found on the Academy of Art University Twitter.
KNIGHT WATCH
The Academy of Art University offense exploded in a big way while in Hawaii this past week. After setting a PacWest record by scoring five goals in a single match versus Chaminade on Sept. 29, Cruz now leads the team with seven goals and 15 total points. Freshman midfielder Andrew Durano, who assisted three of Cruz's goals in that match, paces ART U with four assists. In goal, sophomore keeper Ian Sutherland was undefeated last week with consecutive shutouts and now a total of 18 saves with five goals allowed.
SCOUTING THE PENGUINS
After playing a pre-conference season that featured matchups against three strong CCAA schools, Dominican has suffered several one-goal losses thus far. The Penguins battled #25 Sonoma State to a 3-2 final on Sept. 7 that favored the Seawolves prior to a four-match homestand. During that stretch on its own field, Dominican fell in three 2-1 finals with two coming against Dixie State and Hawaii-Hilo. Forward Pedro Guevara currently leads the Penguins with four of the team's five goals. His 17 shots on goal make him the only Dominican player with double digits in the category. Defensively, goalkeeper Matthew Carlson has started all nine matches, totaling 49 saves with 21 goals allowed in 819 minutes.
SCOUTING THE ARGONAUTS
Though Notre Dame de Namur opened the season with a 3-0 loss to Cal Poly Pomona, the Argonauts have righted the ship since then. NDNU has won seven of its last eight matches and all of the victories have been by two goals or more. Most recently, the Argos topped Cal State East Bay 4-0 on Oct. 5 with a two-goal performance by forward Cristobal Montes. Montes now leads the team with six goals and 27 shots, but six other Argonauts have at least two goals this season. Midfielder Nathan Carlson paces NDNU with four assists. In goal, Isiah Castro has been the Notre Dame de Namur starting keeper in all nine matches with 23 saves and five goals allowed.
THE WEEK THAT WAS
ART U was a perfect 4-0 in Hawaii this past week. From a 1-0 physical battle with BYU-Hawaii on Sept. 27 to the incredible five-goal feat by Cruz that propelled the Knights to a 5-0 victory over Chaminade on Sept. 29, Academy of Art University won several ways. Following those matches, ART U mounted a double overtime comeback in a rematch with Hawaii-Hilo on Oct. 1 to win 3-2. Senior defender Vilmundur Sveinsson took a pass from freshman forward Patrick Heinemann and connected on the game-ending goal in the 111th minute. The roadtrip concluded with a 2-1 overtime win for the Urban Knights against Chaminade on Oct. 3. Freshman forward Grimur Grimsson had his second overtime game-winner of the season off an assist by junior midfielder Richard Luna in the 97th minute. Four different Academy of Art University players notched goals in a week span that saw ART U outscore its PacWest opponents 11-3. In addition to Cruz's PacWest Player of the Week honor, six other Knights earned Weekly Top 10 Honor Roll selections (Durano, Grimsson, Heinemann, Luna, Sutherland, and Sveinsson).
MOVING FORWARD
The Academy of Art University men's soccer team will be amid its four-match homestand at the end of this week. On Sunday, Oct. 17, ART U welcomes La Sierra to Boxer Stadium for a non-conference game followed by a rematch with Grand Canyon on Oct. 28 to conclude the stretch at home.
