Men's Soccer To End Regular Season With Last SoCal Trip

Match #16
ART U Urban Knights (2-9-4, 2-4-1 PacWest) vs. Westmont Warriors (5-1-0, 5-6-2 PacWest)
Monday, Oct. 30, 2023 at 12:30 p.m.
Montecito, Calif. – Thorrington Field
Live Stats | Live Video

Match #17
ART U Urban Knights (2-9-4, 2-4-1 PacWest) vs. Point Loma Sea Lions (5-1-0, 9-4-0 PacWest)
Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023 at 1 p.m.
San Diego – PLNU Soccer Field
Live Stats | Live Video

Match #18
ART U Urban Knights (2-9-4, 2-4-1 PacWest) vs. Biola Eagles (2-2-2, 4-6-4 PacWest)
Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023 at 4 p.m.
La Mirada, Calif. – Al Barbour Field
Live Stats | Live Video

SOCAL TRIO TO FINISH PLAY
The last series of matches in the 2023 regular season is here, with the Urban Knights traveling down to Southern California for a Pacific West Conference three-match road trip, visiting the campuses of Westmont, Point Loma, and Biola.

KICKOFF
All three matchups will take place in the afternoon, as Monday's clash with the Warriors will commence at 12:30 p.m. while the road trip continues at 1 p.m. against the Sea Lions and concludes at 4 p.m. challenging the Eagles. Remember to follow @ARTU_Knights via the athletics app (Apple App Store, Google Play Store) and on Twitter & Instagram, as well as "Like" the Urban Knights on Facebook for score updates, videos, and recaps.

KNIGHT WATCH
Senior midfielder/forward Gilly Miller has continued to have a record-breaking season for Academy of Art men's soccer, with first breaking the ART U all-time record for most assists in a career by an individual player (14), and after the team's last match against Dominican, now holding the record for most points as well (48). Miller currently has 11 points on the year as he leads the team, with freshman midfielder Joey Glaab and junior forward Alejandro Palos right behind him (8).The trio hold 64 shots total on the season, with redshirt sophomore midfielder Elvis Mensah being the only other player above 10, as he has tacked on 23.

Junior defender Chris Stokes has been a force for the Knights' backline all season long, playing in 1,202 minutes thus far. Joining him as another main part of the team's core is junior defender Abraham Valencia, being involved with both the defense and offense.

Sophomore goalkeeper Jaiden Brooks has continued to hold down the fort in goal, recording 59 saves thus far on the season on 188 shots faced. Brooks is now over 1,000 minutes played on the year.

FIGHTING BACK AGAINST WARRIORS
The Warriors currently sit tied for first in conference with a 5-1 record and being 5-6-2 overall, the Knights will visit Westmont on their home turf as the Warriors come off two wins from their Hawai'i trip. Averaging 12.2 shots per match that leads to an average of 1.85 goals per game, the Warriors find their offense coming from a variety of directions with six players above five points on the season. Leonel Olivo Ortiz (13) and Braeden Pryor (12) are the two with the most points on the team, both with four goals as Ortiz stands with five assists opposed to Pryor's four. Both are ranked amongst the leaders in the PacWest in points (ninth and tenth), with Ortiz also in the top 10 for most assists (tied for fourth). Brady Highfill is the goalkeeper for the Warriors, letting 16 goals past him with a 1.33 goals against average (first in PacWest), while he's saved 48 shots (second in PacWest) on 142 shots faced. This will be the first match to date Academy of Art and Westmont will face off.

PUNISHING POINT LOMA
Tied with the Warriors for first in the conference with their 5-1 record and 9-4 overall, the Sea Lions are also fighting for that number one spot with their four games to go of PacWest play. First place in points, goals, and assists within the conference, the Sea Lions hold six more points than the next best within their nine wins. Scoring 2.38 goals per game, PLNU has four players with 10 or more points on the season, with Juan Salazar leading the way with 15 (sixth in PacWest). Tied with Salazar in goals on the year (5) is Marlon Buck, who has played the same amount of matches as Salazar, but being named a starter eight less times. The duo is currently ranked amongst leaders in the PacWest in goals (tied for sixth), with Salazar also being ranked for his five assists (tied for third). In goal has been the platoon of Tanner Wrzeski and Finn Simmersbach, as both have played in more than 500 minutes and have combined for 31 saves on 122 shots and four shutouts. Leading in the all-time series with ART U are the Sea Lions, 9-0-1.

ENDING IT WITH THE EAGLES
With the same amount of wins as the Knights in the PacWest, Biola holds a 2-2-2 record in conference while they're 4-6-4 overall. The Eagles hold one more point than ART U in the PacWest (8-7), sitting two spots above. Luca McGreevey Couchman is the leader in points for Biola (14) with Ethan Hardin right behind him (13). The two are primarily scorers with 13 goals amongst them while a large variety of Eagles players sitting with all of the assists with 13 of them holding at least one. Three different goalies have appeared multiple times in net for the Eagles, giving up 25 goals collectively with their 38 saves on 152 shots faced. Gijs van Schouten has been the one to get the most time on the field, logging 769 minutes. Biola leads the pair's meetings all-time, 5-0-1.

ART U MEN'S SOCCER HISTORY MADE IN DEFICIT TO DOMINICAN
Academy of Art men's soccer dropped a 5-1 decision against the Dominican Penguins in a Pacific West Conference matchup highlighted by a new program record last Saturday at Kennelly Field.

Players Mentioned

#1 Jaiden Brooks: GK; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#9 Elvis Mensah: M; 5' 9"; Redshirt Sophomore

#10 Gilly Miller: M/F; 5' 9"; Senior

#5 Chris Stokes: D; 6' 5"; Junior

#6 Joey Glaab: M; 6' 0"; Freshman

#14 Alejandro Palos: F; 5' 10"; Junior

#19 Abraham Valencia: D; 5' 11"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#1 Jaiden Brooks
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: GK

#9 Elvis Mensah
: 5' 9"; Redshirt Sophomore
: M

#10 Gilly Miller
: 5' 9"; Senior
: M/F

#5 Chris Stokes
: 6' 5"; Junior
: D

#6 Joey Glaab
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: M

#14 Alejandro Palos
: 5' 10"; Junior
: F

#19 Abraham Valencia
: 5' 11"; Junior
: D