Box Score

Photo Gallery (images by Evan Aczon)

San Francisco, CA -- Nearly knocking off one of their top Pacific West Conference opponents, the Urban Knights were just edged by Notre Dame de Namur 3-2 in the 106th minute on Friday at Crocker Amazon Park. The see-saw battle had the Academy of Art University ahead first, then NDNU went up 2-1 before a game-tying goal in the 71st minute carried the match to the second OT where the Argos pulled out a victory. All ART U seniors contributed on Senior Day with solid play in the midfield by Brazer Bozlak, a goal by the program's most prolific scorer Grimur Grimsson, and a career-high 10 saves for Ian Sutherland.

"Our team played a great game today," head coach Daniel Rosaia said. "My boys played hard and I thought they deserved the victory today."

The Knights were on the attack early as sophomore Thorvaldur "Thobbi" Sveinsson tested NDNU goalie Jay Tsuruoka with a header at 8:05 in. Though the shot was saved and Tsuruoka stopped another by freshman Kristof Urbanyi in the 10th minute, ART U had its eye on the ultimate prize of redeeming a loss to the Argos earlier in October.

After Sutherland was put to the test as well and passed with four saves on Notre Dame de Namur attempts, Academy of Art broke through on a goal by junior Aron Ekberg off a setup from junior Patrick Heinemann in the 26th minute. Heinemann sent a tough pass through the NDNU defense to find Ekberg open 10 yards from the net. All that was necessary at that point was a tap in and Ekberg was more than happy to oblige for his first goal of the season.

A 1-0 ART U lead held through halftime as Sutherland and the Knight defense continued to get stops against their opponents. However, just over five minutes into the second half, the Argos struck with a game-tying goal by Jonathan Gonzalez off a cross in front of the goal by Armando Garcia. NDNU pushed the issue with another goal from Gonzalez at 65:54 set up by his teammates Damian Martinez and Rodrigo Perez.

Notre Dame de Namur maintained its now 2-1 advantage for the next five minutes, but as they stopped to argue a foul called, Heinemann and Grimsson quickly sprung into action. Dropping the ball for a free kick, Heinemann played Grimsson on the right side for a swift strike to the far post. The entire play happened in the blink of an eye and, at 71:20, the match was tied.

"Patrick is a great playmaker," Coach Rosaia said. "Aron was quick on the end of it and Grimur has been magical his whole career; he always goes to goal we're lucky to have all three of those players."

Grimsson calmly attempted another potentially game-winning header before the end of regulation, but it went wide and, despite NDNU's pressure, the 2-2 contest would need extra time to be decided. Operating under the Golden Goal sudden death scoring format, this match saw the teams combine for a lot of offense in the first overtime period. They combined for six shots (Grimsson had three for ART U) in 10 minutes and yet none found the back of the net.

In the second OT, Sutherland made two brilliant saves, but the Argos managed to break through in the 106th minute. A cross from Garcia on the right side found Gonzalez who, from his position 25 yards out, got one over Sutherland and won the match for NDNU 3-2.

Grimsson's goal only further built upon his career mark as his 15th goal as an Urban Knight came at a critical time. The Seltjarnarnes, Iceland native now has three goals and three assists in 2012 heading into the final three matches. Sutherland's 10 saves gave him 80 for the season and the most in a single-season for his career. This was the third time in Heinemann's career that he registered two assists in the same match and he is now tied for the all-time record with nine assists in his career. The Knights are now 3-11-1 overall and 2-8-1 in PacWest.

The Argonauts, who improve to 13-3-1, 10-2-1, were led by a hat trick from Gonzalez. Garcia provided two assists on the day while Martinez and Perez each added one apiece on the same goal. Defensively, Tsururoka finished with three saves and two goals allowed in nearly 107 minutes of action.

Set to close out the 2012 season with three matches in Hawaii, Academy of Art University soon departs for its island roadtrip beginning at Chaminade (Oct. 30).