SAN FRANCISCO -- Academy of Art women's soccer finished their historic 2018 season with eight wins, the most in program history and two more than the past three years combined. The historic season also saw the longest winning streak in women's soccer program history, a 5-0 run in which ART U outscored opponents 20-2.

"This season was all about resetting the culture and creating a positive and competitive environment," said head coach Chris King. "With a returning group that wanted more out of their college soccer experience and a hungry group of freshman this was a really special season of taking steps forward and finding success."
 
After dropping their first match of the season to Cal State East Bay 3-0, ART U promptly went on a five game win-streak, three of which were shutouts, to accomplish the longest winning streak in women's soccer program history.
 
The Urban Knights kicked off the streak with a 2-0 victory over Saint Martin, in a game that saw senior goalkeeper Morgan Wirz collect her first shutout of the year on six saves.
 
Academy of Art concluded their first road-trip of 2018 with wins over Western Oregon on Sept. 8 and William Jessup on Sept. 11 both by a score of 2-1. After the undefeated 3-0 road-trip to the Northwest, senior midfielder Alice Michell earned PacWest Player of the Week honors on Sept. 10 in recognition of her two goal, one assist week.
 
On Sept. 13 ART U broke the program record for longest win streak with another shutout win against Mills, pushing the streak to four. In the dominant 5-0 victory, the Knight's offense fired 21 shots in the first half while the defense allowed zero.
 
ART U's next win on Sept. 15, another shutout, came against California Maritime, when the Urban Knights ran the score up to a whopping 9-0 with goals from eight different Urban Knights and a two-goal game by sophomore goalkeeper Lara Pflicke while playing forward. ART U had outscored their opponents by an astounding 14 goals to zero in the past two games. After the offensive outburst, two Urban Knights earned PacWest weekly awards on Sept. 17. Junior forward Anissa Wilson was named PacWest Player of the Week and freshman midfielder Brooklyn Morera earned PacWest Freshman of the Week. Both Knights scored two goals and assisted another in the Knight's 3-0 week.
 
The win streak was snapped in the first conference game of the season, a 1-0 loss to Fresno Pacific. However, Academy of Art quickly bounced back with a 1-0 win against Dominican on a game winning goal by Wilson.  
 
ART U held Biola scoreless for 99 minutes in their next match, but the Eagles found the back of the net and the Knights suffered a 1-0 overtime loss. The Urban Knights dropped their next two games, first to Point Loma 2-0, then UH Hilo 1-0.
 
The 2018 women's soccer team solidified themselves in the record books on Oct. 11 with a 1-0 victory over Notre Dame de Namur. The win came on Wilson's fifth goal of the year and tied the single season wins record of seven.
 
Following a trio of overtime losses, two in double overtime, Academy of Art accomplished their record-breaking feat on Oct. 29 in the penultimate game of the 2018 season against Chaminade. The single season wins record from 2012 had fallen and the 2018 Urban Knights became the most successful team in program history with a 1-0 triumph over the Silverswords on a goal from junior defender Mikayla Lopez. 

"Setting the program's win record against Chaminade was an especially sweet day for all of us," said King. "Behind a goal from one of our stoutest defenders Mickey Lopez, and a team effort that showed our ability to battle defensively all over the field, we reached one of our top goals for the season in breaking the wins record."

The Urban Knights concluded their season with a loss to Notre Dame de Namur on senior day, but ART U still found reason to celebrate their six seniors: Silvia Fernstrom, Alice Michell, Dani Tellez, Chayney Mata, Morgan Wirz, and Rocky Herrera. The time commitment, dedication, and contributions of these six student athletes was honored in an emotional pre-game ceremony . Academy of Art concluded the historic season with an overall record of 8-8-2, and a conference record of 2-7-2.

"The leadership of the senior class was as impressive a thing as I've seen from a college group," said King. "Everyone had their own way of contributing to changing the culture and taking the younger players under their wings to push us forward."

Wirz ended her career at ART U as one of the most prolific goalkeepers to ever play for the program, ranking second all-time in saves (268), wins (9), and shutouts (7). 

After the conclusion of the most successful season in program history, Wilson was named to the All-PacWest team. In her first season as an Urban Knight, Wilson started all 18 games and led ART U in several offensive categories including goals (6), points (14), and game-winning goals (3). Wilson's three game-winning goals were second in the PacWest and her six total goals were eighth.