Match #15
ART U Urban Knights (3-8-3, 0-5-1 PacWest) vs. HNU Hawks (5-5-3, 3-3-0 PacWest)
Sunday, Oct. 23, 2022 at 1:15 p.m.
Hayward, Calif. – Chabot College
Live Stats and Video

Match #16
ART U Urban Knights (3-8-3, 0-5-1 PacWest) vs. FPU Sunbirds (2-9-2, 0-5-1 PacWest)
Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022 at 7 p.m.
Fresno, Calif. – Ramirez Field
Live Stats | Live Video

DOWN THE FINAL STRETCH
With just four matches remaining in the 2022 season, Academy of Art men's soccer returns to action this Sunday as the Urban Knights finish their final leg of the Bay Area Clásico Cup before later closing out the week on Thursday against Fresno Pacific, with both matches counting towards the Pacific West Conference standings. 

KICKOFF
The Urban Knights will do battle with the Hawks in an afternoon matinee on Sunday, while ART U commences its contest on Thursday against the Sunbirds at 7 p.m. 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
Though Academy of Art generated more shots than Dominican during their only contest of last week, ART U could not match a pair of first half goals that ultimately pushed DU to a 3-0 win during the opening leg of the inaugural Bay Area Clásico Cup. ART U threatened with a pair of scoring opportunities on consecutive shots early in the match from redshirt freshman midfielder Elvis Mensah and freshman forward Nixon Thompson during the eighth minute, and put each of their first five shot attempts on goal, but ultimately could not find the scoreboard. 

Junior midfielder Gilly Miller has been instrumental in the offense as he is leading the team in all stat categories. Additionally, he finds himself among the PacWest leaders as he paces the conference in assists (five), is tied for third in goals (six), second in total points (17), third in points per game (1.21), second in both total shots (43) and shots per game (3.07), second in total shots on goal (23), and third in shots on goal per game (1.79). 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 19 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 had put together an impressive point streak of his own after tallying at least one point in each of his previous five matches prior to the loss against Dominican, 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 senior midfielder Breki 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 Einarsson 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 27 total saves, which is 10th most of all PacWest goalkeepers, while his 2.25 saves per game also ranks 10th. His best outing came in the season opener against 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 trio 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 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 Azusa Pacific, 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. 

HALTING THE HAWKS
Winners in four of their past six, Holy Names enters the matchup with ART U after a 1-0 shutout loss to Hawaii Pacific snapped a previous two-match winning streak, both of which were in PacWest action. The 17 goals scored by the Hawks this season have helped them to produce an offense in the top half of the PacWest table in both scoring average (1.42; fourth) and scoring margin (+0.16; fourth), doing so on an average of 10.3 shots per match (132 total). The top offensive threat is Erik Arias, as he leads HNU with four goals and two assists for 10 points, the only Hawk in double-digit points for the season. Holy Names has split goalkeepers this season, but the team has produced a total of 52 saves for a .788 save percentage and 1.17 goals against average. Thanks to winning the earlier season matchup by a slim 1-0 margin on Sept. 21, Academy of Art holds the edge over HNU in the all-time series, 6-5-3. 

FRES-NO WAY
Fresno Pacific enters the battle with ART U winless in their past eight contests, most recently taking a 1-0 shutout loss against Chaminade to conclude their Hawaiian road trip. Sitting near the bottom of the PacWest in most offensive categories, FPU does average 12.0 shots per game (156 total), but only 41.0 percent are on target (64 shots on goal). Antonio Angel Lepe is the top scorer on the Sunbirds with a trio of goals and an assist for seven points, while trailing just behind him is Fabricio Pozas Saboya with a goal and three assists for five points. Expected to be between the goal posts for FPU is Elmer Carballo, who has made 34 saves on 127 shots faced this season. While FPU and ART U played to a 1-1 draw after a goal in the closing moments from Fresno Pacific back on Oct. 11, it's the Sunbirds who lead the all-time series, 11-1-1. 

ART U OUTSHOOTS DU, BUT PENGUINS TAKE CLÁSICO CUP OPENER
Though Academy of Art men's soccer generated more shots than Dominican during their Pacific West Conference clash on Sunday, ART U could not match a pair of first half goals that ultimately pushed DU to a 3-0 win during the opening leg of the inaugural Bay Area Clásico Cup.

LOOKING AHEAD
A pair of Southern California schools roll into town for the final two matches of the year, as ART U will match up with Point Loma on Nov. 3 for Mental Health Day while the year concludes with Senior Day against Concordia on Nov. 5.