SAN FRANCISCO — The record doesn't show it. Head coach Mike Keller will be the first to say that. But 2014 was nothing short of a big year for the Academy of Art University men's soccer program with newcomers finding their place, returners finding their game and the team finding some big wins along the way.
 
"While our record went backwards a bit, I thought we did a lot of things well and learned a lot about ourselves and the program this year," said Keller. "We had a lot of guys step into roles faster than anticipated and really made progress as the season went on."
 
2014 was a streaky season for the Urban Knights, who finished 7-11 overall and 5-7 in the Pacific West Conference (9th place). The team opened the year with a home split against two California Collegiate Athletic Association teams, falling to Cal State San Bernardino 4-1 before defeating Cal State East Bay 4-0.
 
It then lost three in a row before winning three of four through the end of September. October brought a four-match losing streak – including three straight one-goal defeats – before the Knights won three of their last five to close the year.
 
"We can definitely compete in the conference and we'll be aiming to move back into the top half consistently," said Keller. Eight of ART U's 18 matches were decided by one goal and it went 3-5 in those contests, including 2-4 in PacWest play.
 
Junior midfielder Malcolm McLellan was the year's first catalyst on offense, playing a part in the team's first three goals of the season (2 goals, 1 assist) and earning a PacWest Co-Player of the Week award in the season's opening seven days. He would finish second on the team in points (11) and first in assists (5). He entered 2014 with just one career assist in 2013.
 
At year's end it was junior midfielder Kristof Urbanyi who would lead the way offensively for the Urban Knights, totaling 17 points (7 goals, 3 assists) and three game-winning goals. Urbanyi's 17 points and three game-winning goals were second most in a single season at ART U and his seven goals were third most. For his efforts he earned All-PacWest Second Team honors. Urbanyi had started the year with just two career goals and two career assists (6 points) in two seasons.
 
"The efforts from Kirstof torward the end of the year really showed a progression in his game and consistency in the second half," said Keller. "It showed in the record and also pulled a lot of the other players along with him."
 
Academy of Art said goodbye to six seniors in 2014: forward Mike Anderson, midfielders Brady Fiero, Carlos Hernandez and Thobbi Sveinsson, goalkeeper Joshua Leader and forward Frederik Nagel. The group combined to play in 197 games during their time donning the ART U jersey. Sveinsson joined Urbanyi on the All-PacWest team, earning Honorable Mention honors in his final season.
 
The five senior field players had a combined 54 points (22 goals, 10 assists) during their careers. Those players made a combined 41 starts in 2014 alone. Meanwhile, Leader collected 43 career saves in over 1,276 minutes played. He logged his third career shutout on Oct. 4 in a 2-0 victory over Dominican (Calif.) and finished with a career Goals Against Average of 1.20.
 
"We'll miss all the seniors as great members and contributors to the team and we'll look to build of their contributions to make the program better without them," said Keller.
 
Thanks in part to injuries, freshman goalkeeper Alejandro Escobedo got his opportunity to shine in 2014, and he jumped at it. The rookie ended his 2014 campaign with 55 total stops – the third-best single-season mark all-time at Academy of Art. His 1.97 goals against average for the season ranked fifth all-time and he finished tied for second in wins (6) and shutouts (3) in a single season.
 
Newcomer junior forward Jake Walter also found his stride during the season, finishing second on the team with five goals. Four of his five scores came in ART U victories, including back-to-back shutout wins on Sept. 27 versus Hawaii-Hilo (3-0) and Oct. 4 versus Dominican.
 
Though the Urban Knights were involved in eight one-goal games, the team was hardly short on offense. Nearly all of the Knights' season offensive totals ranked among the top-three single season performances in program history, including goals (2nd, 29), assists (t-2nd, 23), points (2nd, 81), points per game (3rd, 4.50) and goals per game (3rd, 1.61).
 
"I'm really looking forward to our core group of guys returning and having 20 returning players coming into the Spring," said Keller. "(It will be) a much better situation than having the majority of players being new players. We are really looking to grow off of this core playing a lot of minutes this year and moving the program forward in the off-season."