WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The Palm Beach Atlantic men's soccer team earned their best result of the season and the highest ranked win in program history as they took down the No. 3 ranked Lynn Fighting Knights 2-0 tonight. The No. 10 ranked Sailfish move to 8-1 on the season and now control their own destiny in the Sunshine State Conference as they move to 5-1 in conference play.

With so much on the line between the two top-10 sides in the nation, the first half had a feeling-out period where neither side was able to create a scoring opportunity. It was a physical contest as both sides looked to dictate their tempo and style on the match. The two sides combined for just six shots in the opening half as PBA had its first chance off a corner when Nicholas Oberrauch found space but put a header wide. Lynn looked to threaten and had a dangerous header of their own on the back post 30 minutes into the match but the ball was blocked on its way to the net. 

The Sailfish centerback tandem of Michael Pahr and Twan Nieboer was strong all night, as they dealt with 6'6" Lynn striker Lukas Ostermann. The Sailfish took advantage of the speed they brought onto the pitch as substitute Giancarlo Triulzi bounced on a long ball from Pahr. Triulzi won a 50-50 ball and split two Lynn defenders. He then put the ball over a charging Lynn keeper to give PBA the lead in the 42nd minute. The goal marks the second-straight game in which Triulzi has come off the bench to score. 

The physical play continued when the two sides came out of the locker room for the second half as there were 15 total yellow cards in the contest. Lynn created the first chance of the second half when Ostermann found the ball in the PBA box, however, Nieboer quickly closed the space and came up with a sprawling blocked shot to keep goalie Guillermo Falo clean. Falo wasn't called upon often as he made four total saves, but he had a big one off a Lynn header in the 52nd minute to keep the 'Fish in front. 

The Sailfish withstood the second-half surge from the trailing side, but PBA put the game away in the 63rd minute when the PBA press lead to an intercepted pass. Quenzi Huerman intercepted a pass from the Lynn keeper and from 40 yards out he gathered himself with two touches and put the ball into an empty net. Lynn's Rodrigo Fernandez slide in late behind Huerman as he released the shot and was shown his second yellow card of the match. Up 2-0 and up a man on the No. 3 ranked Fighting Knights, the Sailfish controlled the remainder of the match, outshooting Lynn 12-10 and 6-4 in shots on target. Huerman has been the lead man for the Sailfish all season as he is tied for the team lead in goal with five along with Fred Ferreira and leads in assists with six. The 'Fish would threaten especially off the ten total corners they had but the 2-0 lead was all they needed.

The win takes the Sailfish into first place in the SSC as PBA, Lynn, and Tampa all sit at 15 points within the conference with the Sailfish holding the tiebreaker by defeating both sides. The 'Fish have been on fire in their last four games having taken down No. 11 Tampa and No. 13 Nova Southeastern on the road by a combined scoreline of 7-0. After returning home to defeat the Rollins Tars, the Sailfish got their best result of the year tonight with the 2-0 win.

Up next, the Sailfish take a break from SSC play as they host Shaw at the Rinker Athletic Campus on Oct. 16. The Bears entered the night carrying a 3-6 record.