Match #1
ART U Urban Knights (0-0) vs. Jessup Warriors (0-0)
Thursday, August 31, 2023 at 1 p.m.
San Francisco – Paul Goode Field
Live Stats | Live Video

Match #2
ART U Urban Knights (0-0) vs. UC Merced Bobcats (0-0)
Saturday, September 2, 2023 at Noon
Merced, Calif. – Bobcat Field
Live Stats | Live Video

With over half of its roster made up of student-athletes in the first half of their respective collegiate careers, Academy of Art women's soccer officially makes its 2023 debut this week. The program's second year under Head Coach Lauren Nadler features depth across the board with a renewed sense of unity.

Spanning the end of August to mid-November, ART U's 18-match schedule opens with a home contest against Jessup (Aug. 31) followed by a trip to UC Merced (Sept. 2). The Knights will remain on the road when facing Cal State Monterey Bay (Sept. 9), Jessup (Sept. 12), and Cal Poly Humboldt (Sept. 16) before closing the initial non-conference stretch by hosting Dominican (Sept. 19). That matchup gives way to more home action as pairings with UH Hilo (Sept. 25), Chaminade (Sept. 28), and Hawaii Pacific (Sept. 30) mark the first three Pacific West Conference contests. October then begins with the first of two Southern California trips, taking Academy of Art to Concordia (Oct. 7) and Azusa Pacific (Oct. 9) before returning for Senior Day versus Fresno Pacific on Oct. 14. The Knights' penultimate non-conference match has them at Cal Maritime (Oct. 17) with more PacWest road action at DU (Oct. 21), Westmont (Oct. 30), Point Loma (Nov. 2), and Biola (Nov. 4) all before the regular season finishes at home on Nov. 11 with Lincoln (Calif.).

The experience of a pair of fifth-year seniors leads the way as defender Raquel Calvo Mendez and forward/midfielder Brooklyn Villapudua each come in with multiple seasons logging more than 1,000 minutes while combining for nearly 60 starts. Also returning as graduate students are goalkeeper Nicole Peoples and midfielder Morgan Day. Peoples, who was twice the PacWest Defender of the Week in 2021 and is the current ART U career leader in save percentage (.859), set a program record by authoring a streak of 36 consecutive saves and a total of 353 consecutive minutes without allowing a goal in 2021.

Six total juniors further strengthen the squad's depth as defenders Katie Williams, Haley Vaughan, Anna Maggi-Brown combine with defender/forward Halldóra Einarsdóttir, forward/midfielder Hannah Moore, and one newcomer in defender/midfielder Valeria Perez Rivera. In 2022, Moore's five points led the team while Vaughan tied for most minutes played at 1,620 across all 18 starts. Incredibly, Williams has competed in all but 15 minutes in her 39 starts for Academy of Art to date, leading the team with 3,606 minutes in her last three seasons played.

The Knights' sophomore class carries contributors on both the offensive and defensive ends with goalkeeper Alicia Calderon alongside defender/forward Mohala Kalauli and forward Danielle Medellin. Medellin paced the team in assists a season ago and, after Calderon handled every minute of work between the posts last year, she broke the program record with 138 saves (second in NCAA Division II) and ranked fourth in the country in saves per game (7.67).

Composing ART U's largest first-year class since 2018 are goalkeepers Kayla Hampton, Breanna Bernardson, defender Jorryn Echeverria, midfielders Ashley Tasev, Mackenzie Dowd, and Kara Aradóttir, as well as forward Katie Correa, defender/forward Jade Alverio, and forward/midfielder Alanna Del Carlo. Multiple new additions carry postseason experience such as Alverio, who contributed to Mililani High School's OIA State Championship, and Bernardson, who helped Elk River High School to a Section Championship, while other standouts include Tasev, an All-Region First Team honoree, and Dowd, a two-time All-League recipient.

The Urban Knights step onto the competitive pitch to pen their 2023 chapter this Thursday.