SAN FRANCISCO -- Academy of Art men's soccer came into their Thursday morning match looking to win their first PacWest game of the year against Biola. However, the Eagles capitalized on a pair of free kicks to defeat the Urban Knights 2-0.

"Tough loss for us today," said head coach Alex Yi. "I thought we played very well in both halves."

ART U came out strong in the first half and controlled the ball for a majority of the period. The Urban Knights also outshot the Eagles 5-4 including two shots within the first 15 minutes from junior midfielder Adrian Cekala. "We were organized and we created some good chances to score in the first half," said Yi.

The first goal of the match came from Biola in the 24th minute on a free kick from 24 yards out. Senior midfielder Kousei Mattox hit a ball that deflected off the inner near post and just nearly crossed the goalline past sophomore goalkeeper Kris Jensson.  

"It was a great free kick they scored on," said Yi. "There was nothing Kris could do."

Jensson bounced back in the second half and collected four saves to bring his season total to 32, ranking him second overall in the PacWest.

Biola quickly added another goal to begin the second half, making it a 2-0 game in the 54th minute. The second goal came on another free kick from 25 yards out that was headered in.

"Biola was a good team, but again it's two set pieces in two games we concede from," said Yi. "We need to get better in that area of the game."

After the Thursday morning loss at Paul Goode Field ART U is 1-5-1 overall and 0-2-1 in conference. Academy of Art will look forward to another home game at CCSF Saturday Sept. 29 versus Point Loma. The weekend match kicks off at noon.