SAN FRANCISCO – The first match for Academy of Art men's soccer in over 440 days proved to be well worth the wait.

Following a goal from sophomore defender Amani Williams within the first nine minutes, exciting action ensued as sophomore midfielder Gilly Miller added another goal early in the second half. Though Fresno Pacific took a late lead, senior forward Adrian Cekala converted a penalty kick goal in the 86th minute to send the match into overtime where he struck once more to give the Urban Knights a 4-3 victory to start both the season and Pacific West Conference play out at Paul Goode Field on Wednesday.

"The boys have worked so hard the last two week and that has paid off," said Head Coach Seamus Wisely. "We played some good football, but we still have some things to work on. The team played with a lot of passion and pride and it was nice to see all the players' smiles at the end."

Williams, the latest Urban Knight to join ART U (1-0, 1-0 PacWest), made his presence known both defensively and offensively when he came up from the back line to score his team's first goal of the season off a cleared free kick in the ninth minute. Some 13 minutes later, Fresno Pacific (0-1, 0-1 PacWest) answered back with Fellipe Souza's score also off a deflected free kick.

From a 1-1 halftime score, Academy of Art stepped ahead once more in the 50th minute when a counterattack from freshman midfielder Elvis Mensah set up Miller for a clever move to evade his defender and find the back of the net. Playing with a new sense of urgency, the Sunbirds attempted several shots in the 20 minutes that followed ultimately resulting in a pair of goals from Allen Escalante and D'andre Renteria in the 71st and 82nd minutes respectively.

Now facing a 3-2 deficit with less than 10 minutes to play in regulation, ART U quickly found itself with an opportunity to retie the match when a foul in the box resulted in a penalty kick in that same 82nd minute. An impressive save from FPU goalkeeper Logan Dinsdale atoned for his foul, but another foul in the box followed in the 86th minute and this time Cekala outsmarted Dinsdale in his ball placement.

With the expiration of regulation and the score locked at 3-3, it was time for overtime as both sides locked in on their pursuit of the golden goal. Holding possession for much of the extra period, the Urban Knights did not allow Fresno Pacific to attempt a shot and instead took four of their own. The final one, which came in the 99th minute, saw Mensah dribble down the right sideline before threading the FPU defense with a through ball to the corner of the box where Cekala put it away to the far post. It was ART U's first overtime victory since September 1, 2018 and marked Cekala's third two-goal performance in his career.

"Winning our first match in overtime was fantastic and it is great to be off to a good start," said Assistant Coach Danny Kirkland. "We saw our new additions gel today and fighting back from being down was a real testament to the character and attitude of this group. We're really excited for our next match, but it's just great to have that winning feeling in the group and it's well-deserved."

Academy of Art continues its first round of matches within the PacWest's Bay Area pod this Saturday at Dominican with kickoff set for 11 a.m. in San Rafael.