HONOLULU – A late goal in the 88th minute off a free kick brought Academy of Art men's soccer to within one against Chaminade, but ART U could not find the equalizer in the closing minutes as CUH held on for a 3-2 victory in Pacific West Conference action on Wednesday. 

While the Silverswords (1-3-1, 1-0-0 PacWest) doubled the total shots by the Urban Knights (3-5-1, 0-2-0 PacWest) in the first half 8-4, the action came down to the quality of the chances as the two teams went into halftime level at 1-1. Both goalkeepers produced three saves in the frame, but Chaminade was the first to break through in the 25th minute thanks to a header goal from Ian Inigo directly following a free kick, with Alessio Franco earning the helper.

Academy of Art would draw level shortly after in the 35th minute, following a similar recipe as CUH when junior midfielder Gilly Miller sent his free kick into the box with a forward pass along the ground, finding the boot of redshirt freshman forward Elvis Mensah who buried the equalizer. It was the second goal of the season for Mensah, and he is the lone Urban Knight other than Miller to score multiple goals this season.

The second half saw ART U return the favor in the battle of the shot department, dominating the chances in the second half 7-2. Despite that, the tie in the match was broken in the 60th minute by the Silverswords when David Kurihara took advantage of a scrum in front of the ART U net, his shot was deflected but ultimately found its way in the net to make the match 2-1. An insurance goal was later added in the 76th minute, as Joaquin Maud also used his head on a goal off of a free kick that was taken by Reilly Minigutti.

Seeking to get ART U back to a one-score game by generating pressure was Miller, but he was taken down just outside the box to draw a free kick with time running out. For the second time in the match, a Miller free kick led to an Academy of Art goal, as he pocketed his chance in the top-right portion of the net in the 88th minute. However, after one last flurry in the closing seconds, Chaminade was able to escape with the win, 3-2.

Both Miller and mensa finished the game with four shots, but Miller put three of his attempts on goal compared to one from Mensah. Additionally, Three ART U defenders in seniors Gilli Kristjansson and Jose "JJ" Cortez, as well as sophomore Chris Stokes, all joined the stat sheet with a shot apiece. Senior goalkeeper Davis King finished the match with the three saves that he made in the first half, doing so on a total of 10 shots faced. 

PacWest play rolls on for ART U, as the Urban Knights finish this three-match road trip to Hawaii against UH Hilo this Saturday at 3:30 p.m. HT (6:30 p.m. PT).