SAN FRANCISCO -- With a quick lead, Academy of Art women's soccer managed to secure a win without ever being down in their first match and home opener of the 2023 season. With two goals in the first 20 minutes of the contest, ART U took the victory from Jessup with a final score of 3-2 out at Paul Goode Field on Thursday.
 
From the opening kick, the offense from the Urban Knights (1-0-0) came out aggressive, keeping pressure early on for the Warriors (0-3-1) as they were holding possession. With only three shots in the first half, Academy of Art made sure its attempts were quality strikes with two of those finding the back of the net. Freshman midfielder Kara Aradóttir successfully scored her first collegiate goal in the 11th minute, slotting it in towards the far post with a quick pass across the edge of the box from senior forward Brooklyn Villapudua. Just nine minutes later, redshirt junior defender Katie Williams brought the goal total up to two with a strong header off a corner dished in by junior defender Haley Vaughan. Right before halftime, Jessup countered with a goal of their own to shorten the deficit to one after a Jordyn Ortiz goal with a short cross over from Kaylee Gillespe came in the 43rd minute.
 
As soon as the second half began, the Knights were determined to give themselves some breathing room. As Williams once again struck towards net with a shot that was quickly cleaned up by freshman midfielder Ashley Tasev off the rebound and put past the goalie for another score. Joining Aradóttir, Tasev punctuated her collegiate debut with a goal.
 
A response from Jessup came towards the middle of the second half in the 68th minute as Gillespe stepped up for a corner that found itself curving between the sticks. With this goal bringing a new light to Jessup's chances, the Warriors kept the pressure on, shooting minute after minute which brought their shot total to 16 in the second half alone. It seemed that one of these shots would find itself as a goal eventually, but the Urban Knight defense held their own for the final 20 minutes of the contest with some outstanding diving saves from the freshman goalkeeper Kayla Hampton. 

"Hampton made some great saves to help us keep the lead and as a result her teammates voted her knight of the match" said Head Coach Lauren Nadler. "We all know we still have a lot of work to do. We'll learn and grow from today's game and apply to Saturday's match."
 
Next up for Academy of Art will be a battle with the Bobcats of UC Merced on Saturday, Sept. 2 with the match taking place on Bobcat Field at 6 p.m.