Match #1
ART U Urban Knights (0-0) vs. Chico State Wildcats (0-0)
Thursday, August 25, 2022 at 6 p.m.
Chico, Calif. – University Soccer Field
Live Stats | Live Video

Match #2
ART U Urban Knights (0-0) vs. UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs (0-0)
Saturday, August 27, 2022 at Noon
Santa Cruz, Calif. – Lower East Field
Live Stats

Match #3
ART U Urban Knights (0-0) vs. Sonoma State Seawolves (0-0)
Tuesday, August 30, 2022 at 1 p.m.
San Francisco – Paul Goode Field
Live Stats & Video

Stepping onto the pitch with refreshed spirits, Academy of Art women's soccer returns for the fall season ahead with first-year Head Coach Lauren Nadler at the helm. The Urban Knights, who offer talent at every position, are determined to improve every step of the way in 2022 as the program kicks off its 15th campaign to date.

In action a week earlier on account of it being a NCAA Division II Championship festival year, ART U embarks upon an 18-match schedule that includes eight non-conference contests all coming before 10 Pacific West Conference matchups beginning in late September. The Knights' opening week takes them to Chico State (Aug. 25) and UC Santa Cruz (Aug. 27) before their home opener against Sonoma State (Aug. 30). Following a match at Cal State Monterey Bay (Sept. 3), Academy of Art hosts Lincoln (Calif.) (Sept. 6) and SF State (Sept. 11) ahead of two non-conference pairings at Fresno Pacific (Sept. 17) and versus Holy Names (Sept. 21) in San Francisco. A trip to Hawaii starts PacWest action with stops at Hawaii Pacific (Sept. 26), Chaminade (Sept. 28), and UH Hilo (Oct. 1) followed by a three-part homestand that features Biola (Oct. 6), Azusa Pacific (Oct. 8), and Dominican (Oct. 16). Rounding out the regular season will be roadtrips to HNU (Oct. 23) and FPU (Oct. 27) then home contests against Point Loma (Nov. 3) and Concordia (Nov. 5).

A senior class loaded with experience includes defenders Avica Robings and Britney Flint, midfielder Reyna Valencia, as well as forwards Baylie Christensen and Brooklyn Morera. The team's leader with three goals (two game-winners) and two assists, Valencia combines with another dynamic spark in Morera who enters 2022 among ART U's career leaders in a variety of offensive categories including second in assists (8), fourth in goals (10) and fourth in points (28). Robings, Flint, and Christensen collectively started all but one out of their 37 total matches last season.

In its four juniors, the Urban Knights return much of their defensive line with goalkeeper Nicole Peoples plus defenders Katie Williams and Raquel Calvo Mendez along with forward Brooklyn Villapudua. Peoples, twice the PacWest Defender of the Week in 2021 and the current ART U career leader in save percentage (.859), set a program record by authoring a streak of 36 consecutive saves and a total of 353 consecutive minutes without allowing a goal. Incredibly, Williams has played all but 15 minutes in her 39 starts for Academy of Art to date, leading the team with 3,606 minutes over the last three seasons.

Heading into the year, ART U carries four sophomores in defenders Anna Maggi-Brown, Halldóra Einarsdóttir, plus newcomer Haley Vaughan and forward Hannah Moore along with four freshman in goalkeeper Alicia Calderon, defender Mohala Kalauli, midfielder Natalia Cruz, and forward Danielle Medellin. Vaughn, a transfer from Jacksonville State, was ranked by MaxPreps as the No. 8 player in the state of Nevada while at Palo Verde High School. With Eastlake High School winning 33 matches in her three years on the varsity soccer team, Cruz brings quite a bit of postseason experience into her first collegiate season.

This Thursday marks the official beginning of Academy of Art's collective journey here in 2022.