Box Score

Riverside, CA -- Up against the team that won the Pacific West Conference title last season in California Baptist, Academy of Art University men's soccer simply ran out of time on its comeback, falling 3-1 Saturday afternoon at Lancer Soccer Field. This was the Urban Knights second trip to Southern California this season and, though CBU played tough on its home field, sophomore Thorvaldur "Thobbi" Sveinsson scored on a rebound shot late to help fend off the possibility of a shutout.

“The guys played hard and were in good spirits on this trip,” head coach Daniel Rosaia said. “We really fought and, when we were down 2-0, I thought we really had a great chance to score, but it just went the other way. I was happy we got that goal late and we really pressed pretty hard in the last 10 minutes especially.”

Up against a Lancers team that dominated the conference last season, ART U did not back down from the challenge. Early CBU attempts to score seemed to repeatedly turn wide and the scoreless soccer continued after junior Sylvester Gyan sent the Knights' first shot just high in the 31st minute.

At the 39:37 mark, however, Cole Schmit managed to break the 0-0 tie by way of goal off a cross by Chase Magdaleno. Senior goalkeeper Ian Sutherland would then make three nice saves to keep his team within striking distance going into halftime. However, nearly five minutes into the second period, California Baptist struck again by way of an Alex Anderson goal off a Marc Hope assist. It was now a 2-0 advantage for the home team, but senior Grimur Grimsson nearly made it 2-1 when he later headed a shot just wide in the 78th minute.

In the match's final minutes, both teams offered strong attacks which each yielded a goal. The Lancers' Michael Salazar scored off a cross from Josh Robinson in the 79th minute to put CBU up 3-0, but Academy of Art University responded. In the 81st minute, three Urban Knights crashed the goal and despite having been tackled moments earlier, Sveinsson followed up an initial attempt by Grimsson for the score. The teams combined for just one shot in the final eight minutes, however, and the Lancers would earn a 3-1 victory.

For the Urban Knights, who sport a 2-9-1 overall record and 1-6-1 in PacWest play, Sveinsson netted his first goal of the year to lead the way. Grimsson added an assist and his own shot on goal. Sutherland finished with four saves in a complete 90 minutes between the pipes.

The Lancers improved to 8-3-1 overall, 6-2 in PacWest with the victory which came off a winning goal by Anderson. Schmit and Salazar also added single goals on the day while Anderson, Magdaleno, Hope, and Robinson each provided an assist apiece. Defensively, Ian Clark had one save and the one goal allowed.

“We're looking forward to the last six games and to finishing up strong,” Coach Rosaia said. “All our hard work is going to pay off and we are going to end the season on a positive note.”