SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Less than three days removed from an exciting overtime win hosting Fresno Pacific, Academy of Art men's soccer tasted victory once again, topping Dominican 2-1 at the Penguins' Kennelly Field on Saturday. Junior defender Armando Rivera came through with the first goal of his ART U career in the opening half and, early in the second, senior forward Adrian Cekala notched his third goal of the week to keep the pressure on.

"It was another tough game, but the team put pressure on Dominican from the start," said Head Coach Seamus Wisely. "What I saw today was hard work, passion, desire, belief in one another, and a team effort from everyone."

Both ART U (2-0, 2-0 PacWest) and Dominican (0-1, 0-1 PacWest) battled through a physical first 36 minutes of scoreless soccer before a pivotal corner kick for the Urban Knights. In the 37th minute, junior midfielder Gilli Kristjansson dropped the ball perfectly over the heads of multiple jumping defenders right to Rivera who utilized a stopping header to place it to the bottom left corner of the net.

Holding its 1-0 lead in the early part of the second half, Academy of Art added a crucial insurance goal in the 70th minute. After intercepting a short defensive pass a few yards outside the box, sophomore midfielder William Mychaltchouk offered a quick pass to Cekala who used a hesitation move to stagger his defender before putting a low driven shot past the goalkeeper into the left corner of the net. Cekala has now risen to fourth in program history with 11 career goals to date.

"The key to today's victory was the attitude and character of this group of players," said Assistant Coach Danny Kirkland. "It was a hard-fought, gutsy performance that saw us defend exceptionally well throughout and two real moments of quality provided the goals. Every single person played a vital role in today's win and I'm delighted with the performance and immensely proud of this group."

In the 81st minute, the score became 2-1 when Dominican's sudden counterattack, setting up Eddie Silverbush for a shot to the far post that ended up being deflected in by the defense. For the nine minutes that remained, the Knights did not allow the Penguins to attempt another shot and held on for the victory, opening the year with two wins in two matches.

"To start off 2-0 is a great feeling, but we must recovery quickly, stay focused, and continue to build on these positive results," Kirkland said.

Academy of Art returns to action on Thursday, Feb. 11 for a 10 a.m. road contest versus Holy Names at Paul Goode Field.