Box Score

Photo Gallery (images by Jessica Rankin & Rob Garcia)

San Francisco, CA -- Matching up for the fifth installment in a history of back-and-forth contests, the Urban Knights sustained a difficult 1-0 loss at the hands of Northwest Nazarene on Saturday. In ART U's first official match at CCSF, a stretch of nearly 84 minutes of scoreless soccer unfolded before the Crusaders managed to score and held on for the victory. Despite the final score, the Knights' defense certainly demonstrated its toughness in Academy of Art University's final non-conference match of the year.

“The team played well, but we just came up a little short,” head coach Daniel Rosaia said. “It may not have been the end result we wanted, but good things are still happening for us. Northwest Nazarene always battles hard and hats off to them today.”

Saturday's match began with the teams combining for six shots in the opening 12 minutes, but the pace slowed as the teams settled into a rhythm. Freshman defender Kristof Urbanyi offered a rocket free kick in that early stretch and he would have another nice opportunity in the 39th minute though both sailed wide.

A frantic end to the first half included a near-goal by junior forward Leonardo Bartelle in the 44th minute, but it was saved and the squads went into halftime still scoreless. On the other side of the field, senior goalkeeper Ian Sutherland had one of his top saves of the day in the 51st minute when his alertness positioned him perfectly to stop a NNU header by Emerson Peredo.

Though junior midfielder Patrick Heinemann and sophomore forward Jonmundur Gretarsson each had chances in the 80th minute, it was the Crusaders' Jon Curry who registered the match's lone goal with 83:57 on the clock. Following a foul, Curry executed a free kick which bounced off an ART U wall, returned to Curry at 18 yards and he was able to put the second attempt away. NNU maintained the lead for the 1-0 final decision.

During a match where smart decisions possessing the soccer ball were crucial, senior midfielder Andrew Durano was key in the Knights' determined effort.

“Our captain Andrew Durano had a good game,” Coach Rosaia said. “He was very productive in the midfield and really held his own.”

Having a huge impact on the opening stretch of scoreless action, freshmen defenders Lennart Fleschhut and Kristof Urbanyi championed the ART U back line. With vocal guidance and sacrificing their bodies to stop the opposition, that tandem along with junior Sylvester Gyan and Sutherland were unsung heroes on Saturday.

“Lenny is a true freshman for us in the back and he's really coming along,” Coach Rosaia said. “He and Kristof have been made a strong defense for our team.”

Junior forward Leonardo Bartelle finished with four shots (two on goal) while sophomore forward Frederik Nagel and Urbanyi each had two shots apiece. Sutherland added five saves in his complete 90 minutes of action. The Knights are now 1-3 overall this year as the non-conference portion of the season is now complete.

Northwest Nazarene had the aforementioned goal by Curry in his five shot attempts. Goalkeeper Alfredo Ontiveros earned the shutout with two saves for a 1-2-1 Crusaders squad that captures its first win of the year.

Academy of Art University now turns its attention to Pacific West Conference play which will begin this Thursday, Sept. 13 against new conference member Azusa Pacific at Crocker Amazon Park. That match is set to kick off at 11:00 AM and will be followed by the women's soccer contest.

“We'll continue to build with some hard practices this week and then we'll be ready to start conference play this week,” Coach Rosaia said.