Box Score

Photo Gallery (images by Kier LaCrosse & Rob Garcia)

Belmont, CA -- It was so dark one could barely see, but sight seemed to be no problem for freshman forward Frederik Nagel Thursday night at Koret Field. After junior forward Grimur Grimsson received a pass from senior defender Vilmundur Sveinsson in the 89th minute and dramatically propelled the Academy of Art men's soccer team into overtime with a goal, Nagel dealt the game-ending blow in the extra period for a 2-1 Urban Knights victory over rival Notre Dame de Namur.
 

"We're a program building and wins like this just make the kids believe they can get it done," Head Coach Daniel Rosaia said. "When we have a guy like Vimmi laying the ball off with 50 seconds left; those are the kind of players who are the foundation of this program. They're coachable and they never say die. This whole win is on Vimmi's back because he really carried the team."
 

The match literally began with a bang as senior midfielder Richard Luna's shot in the first minute glanced off the center of the crossbar. Then a free kick along the left goal line for sophomore forward Aron Ekberg in the 22nd minute would have created another opportunity for Bartelle, but NDNU goalkeeper Isiah Castro made a forward dive to prevent the attempt. A scary situation arose in the 25th minute when the Argos would have netted a goal, but an offsides call kept the match scoreless.

Junior goalkeeper Ian Sutherland was active throughout the first half, breaking up crosses and defending against a pair of early chances on the ART U goal. For the 11 shots taken in the opening period, neither squad was able to get on the scoreboard and, at halftime, the teams were deadlocked in a scoreless tie.

"We're lucky to have Ian," Coach Rosaia said. "He's a great student-athlete in his third year with us and his dedication to program is unparalleled. Ian works so hard and is athletically gifted so we're very lucky to have him in goal."

Things remained intense in the second half, particularly with no first goal for a full 76 minutes to start. Shortly after entering the match in the 63rd minute, Grimsson had a great chance to end the 0-0 tie, but his attempt sailed high. Then a minute later, Luna took a free kick just outside the box. His shot, however, went wide past a diving Argos keeper.

"[NDNU] is our rival team and whenever you play your rival, no matter where either team is in the standings, it's a big game and basically like a championship game," Coach Rosaia said. "All the stats go out the window and you just need to get it done. We take our hats off to Notre Dame; they're a great team and there's a lot of season left for them and for us."
  Sutherland expertly fought off several attacks in the second half, but at the 76 minute mark, the Argonauts broke through. The home team used two consecutive corner kicks to eventually produce a header goal scored by Jesus Gonzalez after Arturo Gomez set up the situation. NDNU now had a 1-0 advantage late and tried to lock down Academy of Art with its defense. The strategy appeared to work initially, but the Urban Knights persisted.

In the final minute of regulation, Grimsson dramatically retied the match, 1-1, with a goal one-on-one on the left side off a pass played through the defense by Sveinsson. It was the second time both Iceland natives had connected since Grimsson joined the team last season. The final ticks came off the clock and ART U had forced overtime.

"It was a great feeling," Grimsson said about the game-tying goal. "I felt it in the team when equalizing the game because we were all on the same page. Vimmi gave me a great chance and I was excited to be able to score it. There was definitely some Icelandic chemistry there."

"You love to have an Icelandic connection, but it's really about guys working hard and putting each other in position to be successful," Coach Rosaia explained. "You work hard in practice and then it translates to the game. We're trying to be more consistent as a program and are working toward that every day."

The overtime period saw another opportunity for Grimsson to finish it in the 92nd minute. His shot from the left side was on line with strong force, but ended up missing just wide of the top left corner of the net. After Notre Dame de Namur nearly took the match with two shots minutes later, Nagel's heroic opportunity materialized. In the 97th minute, sophomore midfielder Patrick Heinemann quickly sent a cross along the top of the box which deflected off an Argos defender right to Nagel. Without a moment's hesitation, the freshman forward put it into the back post and was soon surrounded by a hoard of excited teammates. Academy of Art had prevailed 2-1 in overtime.

"NDNU is basically our rival so this was the best thing we could do right now," Nagel said. "It helps us become more comfortable playing against them and since we face them again this weekend, it was important to get this win."

"This win was significant for us and we're getting better with each game," Heinemann said. "The situation where we play NDNU on Saturday actually reminds me of a quote from a great German coach who said, 'The next game is always the hardest.' But I'm happy for the team and I told Freddy that he was going to do something big today because his hair looked good."
 

For the Urban Knights to be so successful late in games and able to complete this kind of dramatic comeback, Coach Rosaia attributes it to one thing: Conditioning.

"It's all about conditioning," Coach Rosaia said. "The guys train very hard and do a lot of extra running. That's a side you don't see with how much they put in. We run them very hard so late in games, our team comes to play and they aren't fooling around."

Both goals came off the bench for Academy of Art on Thursday evening. Grimsson and Nagel each had one apiece to maintain their spots as the top two ART U scorers. Heinemann added his second assist in as many games while Sveinsson dished out his first assist of the season and the second of his career (both were on game-winning goals). An impressive stopper on numerous occasions in this match, Sutherland took home another victory after amassing five saves in a complete 97 minutes between the pipes. Winning their second consecutive conference match, the Urban Knights climb to 3-6 overall, 2-3 in the PacWest.

NDNU's leading scorer Cristobal Montes finished with three attempts on frame, but did not add to his goal total. Instead it was Gonzalez who had the team's lone goal with Gomez picking up the assist. Castro, the Argos goalie, finished the match with no saves and two goals allowed in his 97 minutes on the field. The Argonauts drop to 5-5 overall, 1-3 in PacWest action.

The Urban Knights turn around and play Notre Dame de Namur again this Saturday back at Boxer Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:00 PM following the women's match.

"I think today's win sums up the idea that hard work pays off," Coach Rosaia said. "Let's keep working hard as a program, keep growing, and we should get better and better."