WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The Palm Beach
Atlantic men's soccer team faced a Sunshine State Conference battle against Saint Leo tonight at the Rinker Athletic Campus. The No. 3 ranked Sailfish came back from a lackluster opening half to send the game to extra time, but they suffered their first home defeat since 2018 by a 2-1 scoreline to fall to 4-1 on the year.
The two SSC teams played a sloppy opening 45 minutes where neither side was able to create legitimate scoring chances. The Sailfish outshot the Lions 6-4 in the opening half but PBA managed just two shots on target. The best chance of the opening half fell to substitute
Santy Winokur who had his left-footed effort saved by a scrabbling Saint Leo keeper in the 43rd minute. The 'Fish controlled 62 percent of the possession in the half but were unable to get their usual smooth passing game going.
It appeared the two sides would go into the half in a scoreless tie however the Lions struck with 20 seconds left. A long ball forward was allowed to bounce on the edge of the box and after it bound around in the area, the ball deflected out to Saint Leo's Luca Tiozzo who found the back of the net.
After receiving a gut punch at the end of the half on the Lion's only scoring chance, the Sailfish responded coming out of the locker room. The energy level was raised in the second 45 minutes, as they recorded five shots in the opening five minutes, including a shout for a handball that would have resulted in a penalty but failed to breakthrough. The field seemed to be tilted in the direction of the PBA attack, but the Lions' defense was doing enough to hold the Sailfish off. The Sailfish finally broke through in the 77th minute when
Brian McGivern got to the byline on the right side of goal and played a ball in to
Bicho Barquin who's left-footed shot found the back of the net from eight yards out.
All the momentum was behind PBA and in the next five minutes, as wave after wave of attacks came on the Lions goal. To the Saint Leo defenses credit, they stabilized after the PBA attacks and the game evened out in the closing minutes and went to extra-time tied 1-1. Neither side was able to get a look at goal until the Lions got a corner eight minutes into the extra time. The Lions corner beat the first man and found an unmarked Miguel Fernandez who's header won the game for Saint Leo.
The Sailfish controlled 61 percent of the possession in the game and outshot the Lions 19-5, but the Lions' defense was organized and made it difficult on the Sailfish once they got into the final third.
The Sailfish won't have time to mull on this defeat, as next, they face two of the toughest opponents in the SSC on the road. They head to Tampa on Oct. 2 before traveling to Nova Southeastern on Oct. 6.
