Match #15
ART U Urban Knights (0-12-1, 0-8-0 PacWest) vs. CUH Silverswords (3-8-0, 1-6-0 PacWest)
Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021 at 1 p.m.
San Francisco – Paul Goode Field
Live Stats & Video

SENIOR DAY
The final home game of the season has arrived for Academy of Art men's soccer with an opponent that they have not seen in almost exactly two calendar years, as the Urban Knights play host to Chaminade on Senior Day after honoring three seniors, Armando Rivera, Adrian Cekala and Edvard Edvardsson, with a pregame ceremony. 

KICKOFF
Senior Day will be an afternoon matinee, as kickoff will be at 1 p.m. this Thursday between the Knights and Silverswords from Paul Goode Field. Remember to follow @ARTU_Knights via the athletics app (Apple App Store, Google Play Store) and on Twitter & Instagram, as well as "Like" the Urban Knights on Facebook for score updates, videos, and recaps. 

KNIGHT WATCH
Senior forward Adrian Cekala's goal during ART U's match with UH Hilo was one for the record books, as he became ART U's all-time leading scorer with his 17th goal, breaking him out of a tie with Grimur Grimsson (16). It was also the 39th point in Cekala's career, giving him the all-time ART U record after passing Kristof Urbanyi (37). Now a couple of weeks removed from that match, Cekala remains the top scorer for the Urban Knights this year, leading the squad in goals (4), assists (1) and points (9). The most recent goal for Cekala was his third penalty kick conversion of the campaign, as he has now scored on each of his last five attempts dating back to last season, tying him for the most penalty kick goals in program history (5-for-6 in his career; most attempts in program history). 

A pair of Urban Knights recently scored their first goals of the season including sophomore midfielder Gilly Miller, who picked his first three points of the season in two matches against Concordia and Azusa Pacific. He earned his first tally just before half during ART U's battle with Concordia when he curled a shot into the net off a quick free kick setup from sophomore midfielder Christian Schaffner, and followed that up by earning the helper on junior midfielder Gilli Kristjansson's first goal of the season in the 56th minute against APU.

Both Cekala and Miller are tied for the team lead in shots with 32 apiece, though Cekala holds the edge in shots on goal with 17, tied for the second-most in the PacWest. While Miller has hit the frame of the goal on numerous occasions, he still is tied for the eighth-most shots per match in the PacWest (along with Cekala), and is 10th in the conference with 13 shots on goal.

Chipping in a pair of points with a goal each are the trio of junior forward Fannar Omarsson, freshman forward Ping Yao, and sophomore midfielder Kendryx Soriano, started by Omarsson who struck for the first goal of the Urban Knights season just seven minutes into the season opener with a helping assist from Cekala. Recently in ART U's rematch against Holy Names, the freshman Yao snatched his first career goal in his fourth match with the Knights, and that spirit spread to Soriano when he notched his first career score in the 67th minute against FPU after a nice assist from junior midfielder Breki Einarsson. 

Platooning in goal for Academy of Art is the combination of junior goalkeeper Davis King and freshman goalkeeper Omer Tal, with King earning seven starts while Tal has started in six. Thus far, King has produced 24 saves on 114 shots faced (.533 save percentage) with a 3.10 goals against average, while Tal has stopped 32 chances on 113 shots faced (.696 save percentage) with a 2.25 goals against average. Earlier this season, Tal posted the ninth-most saves in a single match in ART U history with nine in his first collegiate start against HNU on Sept. 22, ultimately being named the PacWest Defender of the Week on Sept. 27.

STOPPING THE SILVERSWORDS
Chaminade enters the matchup with the Knights at 3-8-0 overall, but while they are coming off of a 1-0 shutout win over Holy Names, that victory had snapped a seven-match losing streak (including a 2-1 overtime loss to Dominican). Generating just 9.9 shots per match leading to 1.18 goals per game, the Silverswords have scored just 13 goals on the season (tied for second-lowest), while also allowing the second-most goals scored in the conference. Kelton Cheney enters as the top goal scorer with four on the year (second with eight points), Brison Kim is the driving force of the offense with a team-high nine points thanks to three goals and three assists, as well as a team-best 23 shots. Expected to start in goal for CUH is Brandon Yasue, as he has drawn 10 starts in goal while posting a .689 save percentage and 2.38 goals against average with 51 saves on 162 shots faced. In the all-time series between the two teams, Academy of Art sits just barely in front, 8-6-0. 

KNIGHTS PRESSURE LATE BUT HELD OFF BY SHARKS
Trailing by a pair of goals and needing a comeback effort on Sunday, Academy of Art men's soccer turned up the pressure in the second half but it ultimately wasn't enough to overcome Hawaii Pacific in Pacific West Conference action, falling to HPU 2-0. 

LOOKING AHEAD
The end of the fall 2021 season has arrived, as the Urban Knights will close out the campaign with one final match next week with a battle on the road at Bay Area rival Dominican on Nov. 11 at 2 p.m.