HILO, Hawaii – Saturday's clash between Academy of Art men's soccer and UH Hilo was a back-and-forth battle that featured a pair of Urban Knights scoring the first goals of their careers, the second of which gave ART U a 2-1 lead heading into the final minutes. However, the Vulcans pulled off the late comeback with two goals in the final 11 minutes to steal a 3-2 Pacific West Conference victory. 

Senior defender Jose "JJ" Cortez started the scoring in the match with the first tally of his Urban Knights (3-6-1, 0-3-0 PacWest) career in the fifth minute, as ART U generated early pressure with a corner kick opportunity. On the kick, graduate student forward Nolan Shafik took an attempt that was blocked, but there to clean up the rebound was Cortez who lasered a shot in the top of the net from near the penalty spot. Only six minutes long did the lead last, as the Vulcans (2-4-2, 1-1-0 PacWest) drew level in the 11th minute on a breakaway passing play that resulted in a goal from Tom Vorkastner.

The match made it to halftime still tied at 1-1 with only a combined three more chances between the two teams, but the offense of pressure for both teams turned up in the second half with 12 combined chances. Seven of those attempts belonged to Academy of Art, including the first goal of the second frame in the 63rd minute. It came from the boot of freshman forward Nixon Thompson, as he started a run up the left side of the pitch after receiving a pass from redshirt freshman forward to Elvis Mensah, ultimately burying the first marker of his collegiate career to the lower far post in just his second match of his collegiate career.

Not going away quietly, Hilo used the ART U recipe for a goal to similar results, as the Vulcans once again leveled the match in the 79th minute after Julian Garcia tapped home a ball from just in front of the net to the near post off of a Vulcan corner kick. Riding the momentum of the equalizer, UH Hilo made a final push in the 86th a minute up the right wing before Keegan Ferreira sent a cross into the box, ultimately finding the head of Pablo Gill for the game-winning goal with moments left.

Academy of Art led the shot battle by a 9-8 margin, but both teams put four of their chances on target. Mensah was the only one to take multiple shots ART U, and senior goalkeeper Davis king closed the match with one save. 

After spending the previous week on the road, Academy of Art will return home for a pair of matches against a pair of Southern California schools in Biola and Azusa Pacific, with the first match against the Eagles taking place on Thursday, Oct. 6.