Box Score

Photo Gallery (images by Lorraine Etchell)

San Francisco, CA -- The Urban Knights found their offensive stride in the first half against Dixie State on Thursday, but the Red Storm found theirs in the second half and came all the way back to win a polarized match 4-3. The Knights scored three goals in quick succession in the opening period before Dixie State tied the game early in the second half and then won it on a goal with less than ten minutes to go.

ART U had been slow to put points on the board since their 10-0 blowout of Mills College, but had no trouble in the first half against the Red Storm defense. The Urban Knights all-time leading scorer Hannah Emmett got things started with the first goal of the match, taking a feed from senior captain Jasmine Sharpe and lobbing in a long shot from thirty yards that looked to surprise everyone as it went top shelf into the top right corner of the goal.


Sharpe was involved in all three goals on the day, making it a 2-0 lead in the 31st minute with a goal of her own as Beth Barker fed her a fantastic pass to  Sharpe in the midfield, who sprinted all the way up the right sideline before breaking in and burying it in the back of the net for the goal. Sharpe returned the favor 10 minutes later, as the Urban Knights took advantage of a bad ball in transition from the Dixie defense. The Red Storm was transitioning to offense, but a miss-hit ball from the defender gave the Knights a 3-on-1 with the goalkeeper. Sharpe dribbled up to the right corner and then found a wide open Barker who tapped it in for the score and the 3-0 lead.

But in a very uncharacteristic lapse given the Urban Knights performance so far in 2012, the Dixie State offense picked up in the second half. They wasted no time in getting on the board, as the Red Storm's leading scorer Jennifer Mason picked up a cross from Megan Marchbanks to make it 3-1 in the 56th minute. Less than a minute later, Mason struck again, taking a shot from distance that goalkeeper Rachael Rempe partially blocked, but it skipped off her for the goal.

Again, soon after, the Red Storm struck to tie the game up at 3-3 in the 65th minute, as Marchbanks made a quick move from the right side off a corner kick and got it past Rempe to the left post. Dixie State struck for the game-winner in the 84th minute, as Kelsey Tesoro dribbled into the box from the left side and shot it near post to complete the comeback and put the Red Storm up 4-3.

The Knights offense couldn't find the rhythm from the first half and was only able to get four shots off in the second half, compared with 16 shots from Dixie in the second period alone. Rempe had eight saves, but the four goals allowed was a career-high. The Knights will play again on Saturday against Grand Canyon at 2:30 PM at CCSF.