HONOLULU – In a bit of déjà vu, Academy of Art University men's soccer went ahead early, was faced with the equalizer, then persevered for a 2-1 victory in Pacific West Conference play. Tied 1-1 after goals by both the Urban Knights and Chaminade within a two-minute span, ART U went ahead for good on freshman midfielder
Jordan Seech's first career goal in the 73rd minute.
"Definitely a similar match to Monday and another one where the guys did well to score good goals," said head coach
Mike Keller. "We know how hard it is to win on the road in the PacWest so we are happy."
In the 14th minute, sophomore forward
Alex Walsh put Academy of Art on the scoreboard first, receiving a touch from sophomore midfielder
Alexander Tombach before firing to the back of the net from 15 yards out straight away. The Silverswords provided a quick rebuttal just over a minute later when Guilherme Aires sent a ball that slipped past two ART U defenders.
The 1-1 tie held up through halftime and it was not until the 73rd minute that
Seech cleverly played a ball punched out by the Chaminade goalkeeper over the entire defense from 20 yards straight away. A physical match from the start, Academy of Art held the Swords scoreless the rest of the way, earning the 2-1 victory.
Now with two wins in a row, Academy of Art moves to 4-2-1 on the season and 2-1 in PacWest play. Walsh netted his third goal of the year while Seech connected on his first goal as an Urban Knight. Freshman goalkeeper
Kevin Mendez posted another complete 90 minutes in goal, adding two saves with one goal allowed.
"Alex and Jordan are really developing and growing with confidence," said Keller. "We are always looking for guys to step up and these two along with others have really helped drive the team."
Chaminade drops to 0-5 overall and 0-2 in conference. Aires had the team's lone goal while goalkeeper Bernd Buescherhoff finished with one save and two goals allowed.
ART U plays its final match in Hawaii on Saturday, Oct. 3 with another 3 p.m. HT (6 p.m. PT) kickoff at UH Hilo.
"It's four matches in a week so we definitely want to get into a rhythm early and leave it on the field," said Keller. "Hilo will always be tough so we're gearing up for another battle."
