Working inch by inch from late August to mid-November, the Academy of Art University Men's Soccer program achieved the winningest season to date in 2013. The Urban Knights were as competitive as ever, defeating the Pacific West Conference's lone NCAA Tournament representative early on in the year and never experiencing a losing streak after game three of an 18-part campaign.

"This season was a real turning point for the team and for the program," head coach Mike Keller said following his first year at the helm of the Urban Knights. "It was great to be a part of. The boys worked hard every day and played well on a consistent basis."

After three scrimmages, ART U got started by heading into overtime against Humboldt State on Sept. 5. A golden goal by the Jacks put them over the top 2-1 and, two days later, it was Cal State Monterey Bay who dealt the Knights a 2-0 loss in Seaside. But many know that life is never scripted and, just 12 days later, Academy of Art had a winning record.

A three-game win streak began with a 2-1 victory over Saint Martin's back at Crocker Amazon Park on Sept. 12 where Leonardo Bartelle and Jesus "Chava" Sanchez netted goals as part of a comeback. On Sept. 14, non-conference play continued with ART U tying the program's scoring record in a 6-0 win over Simpson.

The Knights' 2-2 record decisively became 3-2 on Sept. 19 when a flurry of goals came late against California Baptist, who would become the only PacWest team to reach the NCAA Tournament this year. Andrew Durano set up Jonmundur Gretarsson for 3-2 game-winner in the 93rd minute. Although a hard-fought 1-0 loss to Azusa Pacific on Sept. 21 followed, ART U quickly returned to its winning ways with a 2-1 triumph at Notre Dame de Namur and a 3-1 victory over Dominican back in San Francisco on Sept. 30.

"The team is really growing and that game against California Baptist showed that we have reached a new competitive level," Coach Keller said. "The mentality is that we can play with anyone."

A stretch of five wins in six matches was interrupted by a 1-0 overtime loss at the hands of Holy Names on Oct. 4. Another PacWest victory at Dominican (Oct. 6) led by Gretarsson's lone goal in the match righted the ship before a stretch of three double overtime matches came in the six contests that followed, beginning with a 3-3 tie versus Point Loma on Oct. 12. Early goals by Jon "Jay" Eldon and Runar Gudbartsson were nullified by three from the Sea Lions, but Thorvaldur "Thobbi" Sveinsson then scored on a pretty pass from his Icelandic teammate (Eldon) for the game-tying score.

Prior to their five-match road swing, the Knights dominated Dixie State 4-1 on Oct. 14, but then fought through a 1-1 tie at Holy Names on Oct. 19. In Hawaii to face all four PacWest schools on the islands, ART U started with a 6-0 victory at Chaminade highlighted by a historic hat trick in 4:04 by Gretarsson. Next on Oct. 28 was a grueling 110-minute scoreless tie at BYU-Hawaii and the squad's fourth one-goal loss of the year, a 1-0 result at UH Hilo.

The scoring drought ceased 10 minutes into the Nov. 2 match at Hawaii Pacific when Carlos Hernandez found the net off a quick corner by Kristof Urbanyi. However, the drama of that goal was overtaken by what happened in overtime where Eldon launched a ball off the right post and into the net for a thrilling 2-1 victory to finish off the roadtrip.

Nov. 9 was a significant day as it marked the final time Jacob Baumann, Sylvester Gyan, Leonardo Bartelle, Patrick Heinemann, Jonmundur Gretarsson, Andrew Durano, and Aron Ekberg would be in uniform on the pitch. Battling eventual PacWest champion Fresno Pacific past sunset at Kezar Stadium, the Urban Knights took a 3-1 loss, but still sent their seniors out in style prior to kickoff.

"We are losing some huge players and personalities from the program," Coach Keller said. "They all had a huge impact on the program in different ways and they will be missed."

The year was capped by not only the most wins in program history, but also the most