SAN FRANCISCO – Putting on a show for the fans in attendance for Senior Day, Academy of Art men's soccer erupted for three goals within six minutes of each other, setting the tone for what would become a 4-0 Pacific West Conference win over Chaminade on Thursday. 

After first honoring seniors Edvard Edvardsson, Armando Rivera and Adrian Cekala with a pregame ceremony, the Urban Knights (1-12-1, 1-8-0 PacWest) came out eager to give the trio a victory in their final home match. Possession of the ball led to scoring chances, and the Knights would ultimately convert on their fourth shot of the match when ART U's career leading scorer Cekala added to his totals by finding the back of the net in the 29th minute. He found himself in the right place at the right time and deposited the ball in basically an empty net, as Cekala collected the deflection from the goalkeeper for the Silverswords (3-9-0, 1-7-0 PacWest) when he came out to challenge an over-the-top pass from junior midfielder Breki Einarsson. 

Following up just minutes later in the 33rd was sophomore midfielder Gilly Miller, scoring on what was only his second shot of the game. After a Einarsson made a good defensive read to intercept a pass on the left sideline, he played yet another over-the-top pass, this time to Miller, and put him into the box with two defenders closing in. Miller did the rest of the work, putting two defenders on skates with fake shots before ultimately curling the ball to the bottom right corner for his second goal of the campaign, earning Einarsson an assist in the process. 

The two goal scorers in the match would collaborate on the next goal together in the 35th minute, this time with Miller setting up the senior Cekala with a forward pass just outside the left side of the box after Miller carried the ball into the attacking half. Though he had a man in front of him, Cekala was able to freeze him with a stutter step to his right before blasting a shot past the Chaminade keeper for his sixth goal of the year, tying his career-high in goals that he set as a sophomore in 2018. 

Despite after nine shots in the first half, ART U continued to control the flow of the match in the second half, blasting another 13 shots before the final whistle. Even the final chance of the game would result in a goal, as freshman defender Bilal Mihoubi collected the ball in ART U's box and proceeded to sprint his way the entire length of the field, dribbling past multiple defenders before firing a low shot from the left side of the box to beat the keeper to his right for the first goal of his career with just six seconds left in the match. 

As they entered the match tied in shots, it was only fitting that the duo of Cekala and Miller left the match with six shots apiece (and each had four shots on goal). The only difference would be Cekala's second goal for four points, his fifth career game of four points or more. Meanwhile, Miller notched three points thanks to his assist, the first three-point game of his career, and his sixth point in his last four matches. Einarsson's helper on Miller's tally was his second of the campaign.

Keeping a clean sheet for the second time this season was freshman goalkeeper Omer Tal, and while he did not make quite as may saves as he did during his first collegiate start which turned into being named the PacWest Defender of the Week on Sept. 27, his three saves today were crucial in Academy of Art holding the momentum through the match. 

Only one match remains on the fall 2021 schedule for ART U, as the Knights will finish the year across the bay in San Rafael, Calif. when they take on Dominican at 2 p.m. on Nov. 11.