Game #7
ART U Urban Knights (1-5, 0-2 PWC) vs. Dixie State Red Storm (2-2-1, 1-0 PWC)
Friday, September 23, 2011 at 7:00 PM MDT
St. George, UT – Hansen Stadium
Live Stats

ACADEMY OF ART FINISHES SEPTEMBER AT DIXIE STATE
The Urban Knights' second roadtrip of the Pacific West Conference season has them traveling to St. George, UT to face the Dixie State Red Storm, a team with whom they are 2-2 all-time. Coming off a week where ART U battled new conference member Cal Baptist in a tough Riverside environment and nearly triumphed over #5 Hawaii Pacific, Academy of Art remains hungry for that first conference victory.

OPENING KICKOFF
ART U steps into Hansen Stadium this Friday, Sept. 23 for its meeting with Dixie State following the women's match. The Knights and DSC are scheduled to kickoff at approximately 7:00 PM MDT (6:00 PM PDT). Live Stats will also be available. Remember to check @UrbanKnightNews on Twitter for score updates and recaps. Also become a fan of the Knights on Facebook by 'Like'-ing the Urban Knights page.

KNIGHT WATCH
With another goal for ART U against Hawaii Pacific this past week, freshman forward Frederik Nagel is now tied with junior forward Grimur Grimsson for the team lead in goals scored (2). Nagel also has the most shots on goal (8) of any Urban Knight. Four of his teammates have tallied one assist apiece. An early injury to junior Ian Sutherland forced Academy of Art to split the majority of its goalkeeping duties between Sutherland and freshman goalkeeper Jacob Baumann thus far. Sutherland returned this past Tuesday for his second start of the season. In the interim, Baumann had 11 saves in three starts with five goals allowed.

SOOTHING THE STORM
The 2011 season has been up-and-down for Dixie State to this point. After losing 3-2 to Cal Poly Pomona, the Red Storm tied 1-1 with Colorado State Pueblo in early September. The highlight so far would be DSC's 1-0 victory over #9 Grand Canyon on Sept. 17 to open up PacWest play. Like the Knights, there are two Dixie players, Nyle Ortiz and Clayton Alexander, each with a pair of goals to lead the team. Goalkeeper Tyler Walters has posted 18 saves in his four starts with five goals allowed and one shutout.

THE CONFERENCE CHALLENGE
Head Coach Daniel Rosaia and the Academy of Art University men's soccer team play numerous elite teams in the PacWest Conference this season. Last season, the conference had three teams finish 10 or more conference victories including 2010 PacWest Champion Grand Canyon who was ranked #3 when the Knights faced them in the latter part of the year. As of the fourth NSCAA West Region poll, Hawaii Pacific, Notre Dame de Namur and GCU are all among the top nine with the Sea Warriors at #5, the Argonauts at #6, and the Antelopes holding #9.

THE WEEK THAT WAS
The beginning of conference play pit ART U against two particularly tough opponents in Cal Baptist and Hawaii Pacific. In the match versus CBU on Sept. 17, a pair of first half goals by the Lancers was the difference as both teams showed strong defense in the second period. The 3-0 victory by Cal Baptist was soon a memory as the Urban Knights would suit up just three days later in their first PacWest home match of 2011. Academy of Art was determined to knock off #5 Hawaii Pacific at Boxer Stadium, but a goal by the Sea Warriors shortly before the first half ended seemed to hinder some of the momentum. As the HPU defense made a casual pass, Nagel reenergized the Knights with an interception and a game-tying goal. Senior Vilmundur Sveinsson and the ART U defense would hold valiantly for the next 30 minutes, but two late goals by Hawaii Pacific's Heimana Chene led to a 3-1 win for the visitors.

LOOKING AHEAD
It will be a weeklong break for Academy of Art after its match against Dixie State. The Knights resume PacWest play on Oct. 1 when they welcome Chaminade to Boxer Stadium. Following that contest, ART U takes on Notre Dame de Namur in a road-home tradeoff on Oct. 6 and Oct. 8 respectively.