Fort Lauderdale, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle men's soccer team closed out its regular season on the road against #20 Nova Southeastern (6-4-2, SCC 6-2-1) . The Eagles aimed for their first win over the conference rivals since 2016 and to boost their postseason chances. Unfortunately, the Eagles came up just short, falling 3-2 in a hard-fought match.
The Eagles wasted no time asserting themselves, attacking early and taking the game to the Sharks. Just two minutes into the match, a powerful strike from
Fabian Hilpert outside the box found the back of the net, giving Embry-Riddle a 1-0 lead. The assist came from
Matteo Moreno Madrid, who provided a perfect setup. It was a dream start for the Eagles, taking an early lead over the ranked Sharks.
The Sharks responded aggressively, pressing the Eagles' defense in search of an equalizer. After several corner kicks and shots, Nova Southeastern finally leveled the score in the 29th minute. A well-placed cross from Noah Holtschoppen found Kevin Rubaszewski, who volleyed it past Eagle goalkeeper Salvatore Della Valle to make it 1-1.
The remainder of the first half saw the Sharks control possession, and the Eagles struggled to regain momentum. Teams went into the break deadlocked at 1-1.
Looking to regain the initiative in the second half, Embry-Riddle knew they needed more possession to tilt the game in their favor. However, Nova Southeastern capitalized on a chance in the 66th minute. Santiago Marengo beat Della Valle to put the Sharks ahead 2-1, putting the Eagles into a difficult position with time ticking away.
The Eagles responded with increased pressure on the Sharks' defense. With just four minutes remaining, a free kick from
Tom Shepherd found the head of
Sandro Henning, who directed it past Sharks' goalkeeper Nikolas Ricardo to equalize at 2-2.
However, the drama wasn't over. With only two minutes left on the clock, Rubaszewski struck again, scoring his second goal of the night to give Nova Southeastern a 3-2 lead. That proved to be the final blow, and the match ended 3-2 in favor of the Sharks.
The defeat concludes the regular season for the Embry-Riddle men's soccer team, who finish with a record of 4-8-3 overall and 2-6-2 in conference play.
