Box Score

Photo Gallery (images by Austin McKeon)

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- The Urban Knights played their hearts out on Tuesday, but their comeback bid was turned sour at the last moment by Hawaii Pacific as Yasmina Taketa put the Sea Warriors up 3-2 in the waning moments at Boxer Field. Academy of Art (1-5, 0-2 PWC) equalized late against the first-place Sea Warriors, but in the end there just wasn't enough clock for the Knights to come back a third time. 

Senior forward Megan Bucci only had one shot on the day, but made it count for her first goal of the year. Sophomore forward Hannah Emmett had a goal and an assist, and Erica Wheeler-Dubin added an assist off a corner kick for the Urban Knights. The offense seemed to play with better chemistry, and the defense, especially Sophie Meneses, again shut down the top scorer for the opposing team to keep the Knights in the game until the very end.

Meneses, who was praised by head coach Aileen Nasypany last week for shutting down Dominican top scorer Julianna Bratsberg, was locked in on Hawaii Pacific's Andrea Aguirre and Sanoe Souza. Both Sea Warriors scored goals in the game, but the two goals were close to undefendable, with Souza's coming off a rebound and Aguirre's goal on a breakaway by the Taketa, who ended up scoring the final goal of the match.

"Sophie once again was the anchor of our backline," said Nasypany. "Her speed, mental ability to read the game, and tenacity to always come away with the ball make her a strong force."

ART U delivered one of their best complete performances of the season, especially in the first period, getting off five shots against the Sea Warriors and playing foul-free soccer. Bucci scored her first goal of the season in the 18th minute to put the Knights ahead 1-0, off an exquisite cross by Emmett from the top of the box that Bucci snuck in the back post. Souza's rebound evened up the match at 1-1 in the 23rd minute, and then Aguirre's breakaway goal in the 41st put the Sea Warriors up right before halftime. 

"Today's theme was to have a more balanced performance," remarked Nasypany. "We have had games such as Minot State in which we dominated the play offensively in the first half or matches like Dominican where we battled strong in the second half on defense. We executed better overall but moments of lost focus is what let the win which was in our hands slip through. We are beating ourselves sometimes with our unforced turnovers. When the team as a whole can learn to take care of the ball better in transition, I feel that we will really start to find our stride."

Just like last week, however, the Urban Knights wouldn't give up the fight, and came out in the second half swinging, and swinging hard. Ten minutes into the second half, Erica Wheeler-Durbin lined up for a corner-kick for the Knights. Emmett, who had missed a goal by inches only five minutes before when taking a shot off the corner that hit the crossbar, ran into the box off the corner. This time, Emmett, who had assisted on Bucci's goal earlier in the game, didn't need a second chance, heading her first goal of the year inside the left post for a three-point day. 

The shot by Emmett was one of many on the day that ART U was just unlucky, having the right people in the right place but hitting the post twice and missing just high a third time. The offense looked much more comfortable today, even when playing behind, as Coach Nasypany continues to tinker with the lineup on this young season. The front line of Emmett, Bucci, and Margaret Thorolfsdottir, who added another five shots to her season total, including another on goal and two more that were just deflected wide by the defense. 

The game stayed tied for another 25 minutes before Yasmina Taketa slipped away from the defense and took on Jessica Bibby one on one. Taketa penetrated all the way to the box and got the shot just to Bibby's left to put the Sea Warriors ahead for good in the 85th minute. The Sea Warriors, who sit atop the PacWest after today's game, will head back to Hawaii to finish out their season on the islands.

The gelling of the front line of the Urban Knights is a key to the season going forward. Thorolfsdottir is emerging as a serious threat for the Urban Knights, and Bucci and Emmett work together like they have been playing together for longer than two years. Paired with the smothering defense of Meneses and Sharp, as well as a collection of solid performances between the posts by Jessica Bibby, and Academy of Art has plenty of bright spots to focus on as PacWest play continues. 

"I am really proud of the team's effort today. They made some positive growth forward," concluded Coach Nasypany. "We scored first and early. Our forwards had more composure with brilliant finishes by Hannah Emmett and Megan Bucci. We scored on a set piece and did not give up any goals on set pieces. The third and most important, we showed mental toughness to come back to tie the game after being down. The team is just coming off a recent loss to Cal Baptist and still came out with their warrior faces on."

The Urban Knights head to St. George, UT to take on Dixie State on Friday, and will travel to Rocklin, CA to play agianst William Jessup next Thursday. Academy of Art will return to Boxer Field on October 1 against Chaminade.