Match #15
ART U Urban Knights (2-9-2, 1-7-0 PacWest) at DUC Penguins (3-8-3, 2-6-0 PacWest)
Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021 at 11 a.m.
San Rafael, Calif. – Kennelly Field
Live Stats & Video

THE LAST RIDE
After celebrating Senior Day last week, Academy of Art women's soccer will finish off the 2021 season on the road when they travel to the North Bay Area to take on the Penguins of Dominican this Thursday. 

KICKOFF
An early afternoon kickoff is on tap for the Urban Knights, as the battle against the Penguins begins at 11 a.m. Remember to follow @ARTU_Knights via the athletics app (Apple App Store, Google Play Store) and on Twitter & Instagram, as well as "Like" the Urban Knights on Facebook for score updates, videos, and recaps. 

KNIGHT WATCH
Junior midfielder Reyna Valencia scored the fastest goal in Urban Knights history during ART U's shutout win over the Hawks on Oct. 10, putting a ball in the back of the net just 51 seconds into the contest. By the end of the match Valencia had a hand in all three Urban Knights goals scored, as she also chipped in a pair of assists (the 14th two-assist match in program history). She struck for her third marker of the season on senior day against Chaminade, giving her a new career-high in a single season after she scored twice in both 2018 and 2019 while scoring only once in the shortened 2020 season. Valencia currently owns team-best marks in goals (three), assists (two), and points (eight), and has now surpassed her previous career-high of seven points that she set during her freshman campaign in 2018. Two of her goals have gone down as game-winners, tying her for seventh in the conference.

Assisting on Valencia's last goal was graduate student midfielder Melissa Wilson, as the first-year Urban Knight picked up her first helper to go along with her first ART U goal earlier this season against Holy Names. Scoring the first goal of her season against HNU was senior forward Brooklyn Morera, as she scored her fifth goal in her last three matches against the Hawks dating back to last season, and she now leads the team both in shots (27) and shots on goal (nine). Also picking up their first points of the campaign were junior defender Avica Robings and sophomore forward Brooklyn Villapudua, with each chipping in an assist. 

Standing out in goal has been sophomore goalkeeper Nicole Peoples, as the two-time PacWest Defender of the Week had a streak of 36 consecutive saves without allowing a goal, spanning a total of 353 minutes of game action. Though that streak has since ended, Peoples is still among the best goalkeepers in the PacWest, as she leads the conference in save percentage (.891) and save per game (7.13) while tying for third in total saves (57). With a 2-4-2 record, Peoples has a low 0.891 goals against average with 3.1 shutouts, with the shutouts tied for the second most in a single season and third most in program history. Forming a stellar tandem with Peoples has been senior goalkeeper Jordyn Wight, who had made at least five saves in five consecutive matches until last time on the pitch when she split time with fellow senior Dru Keizer, including a career-high eight in the the last match against Azusa Pacific. Among her seven saves against Hawaii Pacific was a beautiful pair of kick saves, and she has now amassed a .686 save percentage and a 2.63 goals against average with a total of 35 saves on 127 shots faced.

Playing in the last matches of their respective careers are seniors midfielder Sydney Cooke and defender Alyssa Rasmussen, and each will end atop a pair of ART U participation records. This will be the 74th match in the career of Cooke, officially setting the ART U record after having passed Alice Mitchell when she took the pitch against Hawaii Pacific, while Rasmussen will finish one contest shy of her total with 73. Meanwhile, Rasmussen will finish with the most minutes played in ART U history, having logged 6,390 minutes to this point in her career with one match remaining, while Cooke will finish in fourth place and is currently at 5,279 minutes played. 

MARCH ON THE PENGUINS
Sliding into the match on a two-game losing streak is the Penguins, dropping a pair of one-goal decisions to Biola and Concordia. Though they had a recent win against Chaminade, it has been a rough stretch for Dominican as they are 1-6-0 in their last seven matches. While offense has not been strong for the Penguins after generating just 0.57 goals per game on 9.4 shots per match, the defense has been tough at times and has a scoring margin of only -0.64. Entering as the top scorer is Tanya Bills with four goals and one assist for nine points, as she drives the offense with a team-high 26 shots and nine shots on goal. Projected to start in goal is Jaqueline Catano, posting a .793 save percentage and 1.12 goals against average with 46 saves and five shutouts on 137 shots faced. The Penguins lead the Knights in the all-time series, 10-6-3. 

LATE SECOND HALF GOAL DOWNS WOMEN'S SOCCER ON SENIOR DAY
While Academy of Art women's soccer was able to find an equalizer early in the second half, the match would not remain level as Chaminade would find the go-ahead goal in the 74th minute, ultimately defeating ART U 2-1 in Pacific West Conference action on Senior Day. 

LOOKING AHEAD
With the 2021 season having concluded, the Urban Knights will have to look forward to the fall 2022 season when they can return to the pitch. For all the latest ART U women's soccer news, check www.ARTUAthletics.com.