WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — RV Embry-Riddle (9-2-5, 5-1-4) played Palm Beach Atlantic (6-5-5, 4-4-2) to a 1-1 tie Wednesday at Rinker Athletic Campus to conclude the regular season.
Entering the day, it was well established that alongside of this matchup, many eyes were also going to be drawn to the conference table. The Eagles hopes of clinching a regular season Sunshine State Conference championship were alive if they got some help. Unfortunately for ERAU, that help did not arrive as Florida Tech was able to find a victory that saw them finish as the regular season champions.
The Blue and Gold finished right behind the Panthers, clinching the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament. Notably, this will be the first time the program has made the SSC tournament since joining. While the season is still alive and well, this regular season has marked an impressive turnaround from the bottom of the table last year. A credit to what the staff has been able to find in returning players and newcomers alike.
The weather cooperated for near perfect game conditions today and the Eagles seemed to set the tone early in the game. In the third minute,
Lukas Bludau connected with a perfectly placed cross from
Elliot Mills to volley home his sixth goal of the season. Despite the quick start, the game gave way to a a strong defensive battle. It was not until the 75th minute in which Dominic Breidenbach found Fritz Burger for what would be Palm Beach Atlantic's answer in the contest. ERAU finished with an 11-8 advantage in shots, while Palm Beach Atlantic held a 6-3 edge in shots on goal.
First Half
- Bludau put ERAU ahead 1-0 at 3:47 off an assist from Mills. It was Mills' first assist of the season.
- PBA generated the next sustained push, including three saved Ole Lichter shots, while the half also included a run of fouls and a Sailfish yellow card at 14:23.
-
Marcos da Silva added saves on PBA shots at 31:24 and 34:28 to keep the margin intact.
- The Eagles closed the half with chances from
Rimon Beyene,
Gianmarco Bertolini and
Joseph Ben-Ezra, plus a corner kick, and led 1-0 at the halftime break.
Second Half
- Palm Beach Atlantic built second-half pressure with corner kicks at 56:16, 62:46 and 68:29 before Ben-Ezra put ERAU's first shot of the half out top at 70:43.
- The Sailfish tied the match 1-1 at 75:15 when Burger scored off an assist from Breidenbach.
- Embry-Riddle pushed back with a shot and corner from
Jonas Banouas at 78:56, a
Louis Thompson shot out top at 85:19 and a Banouas shot saved by Flavio Giannini at 85:54.
- Palm Beach Atlantic added a late corner and a Burger shot over the crossbar, while the final minutes included fouls by both teams before the match finished 1-1.
Inside the Stats
- Bludau scored on his only shot of the match.
- Mills recorded his first assist of the season.
- da Silva made five saves.
Up Next
The Eagles will host Tampa in the Sunshine State Conference Quarterfinals on Monday, November 2 at 6 p.m. at Embry-Riddle Soccer Stadium in Daytona Beach, Fla.
