San Francisco, CA -- One year after posting a series of program highs in different categories across the board, the Academy of Art University women's soccer program pushed the envelope even further in 2012. The Urban Knights upped their scoring efficiency while at the same time cutting their opponents scoring opportunities to finish the year with the most wins in the program's five year history.

Head coach Aileen Nasypany entered the year with a fresh batch of recruits playing all over the field, with one of the most important taking her place between the posts. Transfer Rachael Rempe set up shop in goal for the Urban Knights, and made an immediate impact. As a result, the ART U squad gave up almost a full goal less per game than the previous year, lowering from 2011's average of 2.48 goals per contest to a paltry 1.60 goals under Rempe's guard.

"We're not waiting for permission," said head coach Aileen Nasypany. "We increased our win total both in conference and overall and bettered the majority of our statistical categories. The extreme competitive nature of this group brought nearly every match to a one goal margin. We are heading in the right direction with the right group of student-athletes. I am very proud of this year's team for their work-ethic, mentality, and selflessness to reach our goals and standards."

The year started off with a challenge, as the Urban Knights dropped their first two non-conference games of the year against Cal State Monterey Bay and Northwest Nazarene. The Knights then got their first win of the season on a 10-0 blowout of Mills College that really seemed to jump-start their offense and was also the first of Rempe's record five shutouts. ART U finished the non-conference schedule with a trip to Canada, where Rempe backed up her first shutout of her career with her second, a 1-0 victory on Beth Barker's first game-winner of the year.

Barker and Rempe were only two of the new pieces Nasypany had to play with in 2012, as key newcomers played vital parts throughout the year. The addition of Hanna Aronzon to the back line that was already anchored by sophomore captain Sophie Meneses and senior captain Tanner McCandlish meant a much more physical and active defensive presence.

That presence was felt over the next two games that started the conference schedule, and even though the Knights lost, they fell twice to the teams that finished second and third in the PacWest by duplicate scores of 1-0. Azusa Pacific played their first PacWest match against the Knights and were held to a single goal, and then Point Loma came in and escaped late on a lone goal of the match.

The close matches continued with a 4-3 loss to Dixie State and a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Grand Canyon. The Urban Knights then broke the losing streak with a dramatic win over Dominican. The Golden Gate rivals battled it our for 89 minutes, and with time winding down, Barker notched another game-winner when she curled in a corner kick with only 13 seconds left on the clock to give the Knights the 1-0 victory, their sixth straight one-goal game in a row. From one bridge to another, the Knights backed that up with a 3-1 win over Holy Names in a classic Bay Bridge battle, riding a pair of goals from freshman Jule Klandt to victory.

"We brought in a surge of high caliber talent from the US and international freshmen to junior college graduates to Division I transfers, all who had an immediate impact on the program," said Nasypany. "This will be the trend for the future as we are in a rapid growth cycle taking this team to the top."

ART U's win against Holy Names ended the first half of their season that saw the Knights play six straight at home to kick off the PacWest slate. Starting in October, the Urban Knights would hit the road, beginning with a rough 5-3 loss against Notre Dame de Namur that saw the Argos score all of their goals in succession after Academy of Art had taken a 2-0 lead.

That was followed with another tough defeat at the hands of Cal Baptist in Riverside, and a 1-0 loss to Dominican that broke the Knights four game win streak against the Penguins. The string of close losses continued with a 2-0 loss to Fresno Pacific and a 2-1 overtime heartbreaker against NDNU on Senior Day, but the Knights had one more road trip to end their season on a high note. And that's exactly what they did.

Academy of Art, led once again by their stellar defense, roared through their Hawaiian road trip, with their first stop in Honolulu. Giovanni Plater assisted on the first and scored the second goal for the Knights, who took down Chaminade 2-0, Rempe's fourth shutout. Hannah Emmett, the Knights all-time career scorer, notched her 15th career goal in the next game, a 1-0 shutout of Hawai'i Pacific. With a chance at their first ever sweep of an island road trip, the Knights sprinted to the finish, withstanding a late equalizer against UH Hilo to win 2-1 in overtime on a game-winner from Rea Laudat.

"Three sweeping wins in Hawaii to wrap up the year was a very special moment in our program history," said Nasypany. "To see such a young group embrace the team's vision and learn to battle together is every coach's dream. The leadership from my wonderful coaching staff and our captains was tremendous. I look forward to the upcoming spring to aid in the development of these outstanding young female artist athletes in the classroom, on the pitch, and in this community."

The Knights will miss two of their three captains, however, as seniors Jasmine Sharpe and Tanner McCandlish played their final games for Academy of Art. Sharpe ranks first all-time in minutes on the pitch for the Knights, topping the 5000 minute mark earlier this year over 65 games. The captain is also first on the leader boards for career assists, with nine, and scored six goals in her career. McCandlish anchored the back line for the Knights for four years, playing the most matches in program history with 70. 

The Urban Knights ended the year with more goals than ever in program history, while also allowing fewer goals than ever before. More importantly, with a big chunk of their core returning next season, they expect to be able to build on this year's success in the future.