SAN FRANCISCO – The 2022 campaign for Academy of Art women's soccer was one of change and growth, all started by the addition of first-year Head Coach Lauren Nadler and included five new Urban Knights joining the roster over the offseason.  

After tuning up in a pair of scrimmages, the year officially began on Aug. 25 against Chico State and continued on Aug. 27 against UC Santa Cruz where the Knights scored their first goal of the season. A goal just three minutes into the match from redshirt sophomore forward Hannah Moore gave ART U its first lead of the season, but the Banana Slugs responded to take the win. 

Coming across the bridge into San Francisco for the ART U home opener was Bay Area foe Sonoma Sate on Aug. 30, then Academy of Art returned to the road to begin the new month on Sept. 3 against Cal State Monterey Bay where the Knights set their season-high in shots on goal by putting both of their attempts on net.

Following was a cross-town trip to San Francisco neighbor SF State on Sept. 11, where despite taking a tough 1-0 loss to the Gators, freshman goalkeeper Alicia Calderon had set her then season high in saves with 11 on 27 shots faced. Concluding the road trip was a drive down to Fresno, Calif. to take on Fresno Pacific on Sept. 17, with the Knights finally coming back to friendly confines on Sept. 21 to take on Holy Names. Against the Hawks, Moore netted the equalizer in the 25th minute for her team-leading second of the season, which was started after a takeaway by sophomore defender Halldóra Einarsdóttir before she played back to Moore at the top of the box for the strike. However, HNU found the go-ahead goal in the second half.

Pacific West Conference play began with an Academy of Art trip to the Hawaiian Islands, taking on all three Hawaiian teams beginning with Hawaii Pacific on Sept. 26, then Chaminade on Sept. 28, before concluding with nationally-ranked No. 7 UH Hilo on Oct. 1. Upon returning to San Francisco the Knights saw a pair of Souther California opponents, playing host to Biola on Oct. 6 before following up in a battle against Azusa Pacific on Oct. 8, once again setting a season best in shots with five. 

Taking a quick detour from conference play, Academy of Art collected its first win of the season when they clashed with Lincoln University on Oct. 12, dominating the match to the tune of a 3-0 final. Senior midfielder Baylie Christensen netted a brace in the contest, striking for the game-winning goal in the 41st minute before adding her other as insurance just out of the halftime break in the 49th minute. Both scoring plays were nearly identical, as each was set up by freshman midfielder Danielle Medellin. Meanwhile, freshman midfielder Natalia Cruz registered her first Academy of Art goal in the 81st minute, with senior defender Britney Flint and Moore each combining to set up the scoring play and collecting their first assists of the year. 

Up next was the inaugural Bay Area Clásico Cup, a battle of three Northern California PacWest teams, beginning with Dominican on Oct. 16. After that, the Knights played their final leg of the challenge against HNU on Oct. 23, which featured the first career goal for Flint and the first goal of the season for senior defender Avica Robings. Despite the two goals, the Hawks claimed the win once again.

The final road contest of the year saw Calderon once again set a season-high mark in saves with a total of 16 against FPU on Oct. 27, the second-most saves in a single game in program history. Additionally, that number would help her also become the new ART U leader for saves in a single season, topping the old record of 116 saves set by Solveig Barnes during just ART U's second year in 2009. 

Making the trip north for ART U to conclude their season at home was Point Loma and Concordia, beginning first with the nationally ranked No. 18 Sea Lions on Nov. 3. A showdown on a rainy day against the Eagles came after the Knights honored the contributions of five Urban Knights seniors who spent their entire career with ART U in defender Avica Robings, midfielder Reyna Valencia, defender Britney Flint, forward Baylie Christensen, and forward Brooklyn Morera. Each of these five Urban Knights recorded nearly 4,000 minutes of game action, and leave in a minimum of three Urban Knights career top-10 lists.

In the final match against the Eagles Calderon finished with a total of nine saves, and ended the season with a total of 138. Not only did she set an ART U record, it was the most saves in the PacWest this year and was sixth-most in a single season in PacWest history.

At the end of the campaign a pair of Urban Knights collected postseason honors, as both Flint and Moore were selected to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team, which recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. They were the first CSC Academic All-District honors in their respective careers.

Academy of Art now turns to the page to the offseason, looking to build upon consistency and experience heading into the 2023 campaign next year.