Match #14
ART U Urban Knights (3-7-3, 0-4-1 PacWest) vs. DU Penguins (8-4-0, 4-1-0 PacWest)
Sunday, Oct. 16, 2022 at 2:30 p.m.
San Francisco – CCSF Soccer Field
Live Stats and Video

BATTLE FOR THE CLÁSICO CUP
Only one match appears on the schedule for Academy of Art men's soccer this week, a Pacific West Conference clash with PacWest leader Dominican that also signals the beginning of the inaugural Bay Area Clásico Cup, a brand new competition amongst the three Bay Area PacWest schools. 

KICKOFF
This weekend will see a Sunday showdown with the Penguins, as kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. from CCSF Soccer Field. Remember to follow @ARTU_Knights via the athletics app (Apple App Store, Google Play Store) and on Twitter & Instagram, as well as "Like" the Urban Knights on Facebook for score updates, videos, and recaps. 

KNIGHT WATCH
The most recent stretch of matches saw the Urban Knights go 0-1-2, dropping the week's opening contest to Biola before ending the span with consecutive 1-1 draws against Azusa Pacific and Fresno Pacific (non-conference action against FPU), in both of which Academy of Art was the first to hit the scoreboard. Against APU, it was the first goal in the collegiate career of freshman defender Oliver Asgeirsson coming in the 77th minute when he buried the go-ahead goal with his head, but the Cougars answered moments later in the 83rd minute. Meanwhile, ART U's goal leader junior midfielder Gilly Miller buried a chance on their second shot of the match in the 32nd minute with assists going to redshirt freshman midfielder Elvis Mensah and senior midfielder Breki Einarsson against FPU, but the Sunbirds snagged a late equalizer in the 89th minute.

Miller has been instrumental in the offense as he is in the midst of a three-game point streak (one goal, two assists) while leading the team in all stat categories. Additionally, he finds himself among the PacWest leaders as he paces the conference in assists (five), is third in goals (six), second in total points (17), third in points per game (1.31), second in both total shots (39) and shots per game (3.00), and second in both total shots on goal (23) and shots on goal per game (1.77). The 17 points are currently tied for second-most in a single season in program history, while the six goals are tied for seventh-most. It has been quite the stretch for the junior midfielder dating back to last season, as he has now 24 points over his previous 18 matches (eight goals, eight assists). Two of his goals this campaign have been game-winners, the most on ART U and tied for fifth most in a single season in program history.

Second on the squad in points is Mensah, who has put together an impressive point streak of his own after tallying at least one point in each of his last five matches, producing seven points over that span thanks to a pair of goals and three assists. He is the only other Urban Knight to accumulate at least three goals and three assists on the campaign (nine points), both of which are new career highs. 

Trailing behind Miller and Mensah is Einarsson, who collected his first points of the 2022 campaign with a helper against Cal Poly Humboldt when he sent a quick pass in the box to senior midfielder William Mychaltchouk, who powerfully launched a ball across the front of the goal to the back post for the score. Against William Jessup he found the back of the net in the 40th minute thanks to a gorgeous header goal inside the box after a cross from the deep right wing by junior midfielder Kendryx Soriano, who is tied for third on the team in points at three with Mychaltchouk.

Along with the team's winning streak, the no goals allowed stretch by senior goalkeeper Davis King also came to an end after it reached a total of 353 minutes of game action with seven saves over that span. Over the course of the campaign King has made 26 saves, which now gives him the ninth-most of all PacWest goalkeepers, while his 2.36 saves per game ranks 10th. His best outing coming in the season opener Cal State Dominguez Hills where he totaled four saves on 13 shots faced. Prior to the match against Holy Names, King collected an honor from the PacWest as a pair of clean sheets helped him earn his first ever PacWest Defender of the Week award on Sept. 19, becoming just the second ART U goalkeeper to earn the honor. King faced a total of 26 shots across the week, 13 in each match, and produced a pair of saves in each contest.

Recently drawing a pair of starts between the goal posts has been freshman goalkeeper Jaiden Brooks, the first starts of his collegiate career. After a slow first match, Brooks was called upon a often against Fresno Pacific, including making a trio of great saves early in the first half before ending the day with a total of 10. Not only was that the most in a single match by ART U keeper this season, it was tied for the sixth most in a single match in program history, which is the most in a match since King posted 11 against the same FPU squad on Nov. 2, 2019.   

As a unit, ART U has generated a total of 134 shot attempts with 64 making their way on goal (47.8 percent), leading to an average of 10.3 shots per game and 1.23 goals per game. Across the PacWest, the scoring average ranks fifth while sitting fourth in goals (16) and fifth in shots. The Knights have twice reached 17 shots in a single game, first doing so against William Jessup before repeating the feat recently against the Cougars, but the eight shots on goal against WJU remain a season best. A total of 20 Urban Knights have all taken at least one chance at the net, 18 of which put their shots on goal. 

DOMINANT DOMINICAN
Sitting on top the PacWest table are the Penguins of Dominican, but they recently saw their four-match winning streak come to an end with a 3-2 loss to Biola in PacWest play. The second-most goals scored (20) has led to the second-best scoring average (1.67), while they also sport the third-best scoring margin in the conference (+0.25). Their PacWest-leading 176 shots lead to an average of 14.7 per game, with 85 total chances making it on target (48.3 percent). Brian Sanchez leads all Penguins in points, as his five goals and four assists have him among the conference leaders with 14 points. In goal is expected to be Alejandro Reyes, making 33 saves on 107 shots faced for a .660 save percentage. In the all-time series between Academy of Art and Dominican, it is the Urban Knights with an 11-7-1 advantage thanks to winning each of the previous three meetings, most recently doing so in the season finale last year by a 3-2 final on Nov. 11, 2021.

ART U CONTROLS MAJORITY OF MATCH, BUT DRAWS 1-1 WITH FPU
Academy of Art men's soccer played from ahead throughout most of its non-conference match with familiar foe Fresno Pacific on Tuesday, but a goal from FPU in the 89th minute sent both teams home with a 1-1 draw.

LOOKING AHEAD
Academy of Art will prepare for only one match next week, as they wrap up the Bay Area Clásico Cup when the Urban Knights take on Holy Names out in Hayward, Calif. on Oct. 23 at 1:15 p.m.