WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The Palm Beach Atlantic men's soccer team returned to Sunshine State Conference play tonight as they hosted the Eckerd Tritons. In a near must-win match, the Sailfish ended their three-game skid with a controlling 2-0 win to take their record to 8-5-1 on the season and 4-4-1 in SSC play.

The Sailfish had to weather the opening five or six minutes of play as the visiting Tritons possessed the ball and charged out of the gates looking for a win that would improve their SSC Tournament odds. However, PBA was never truly bothered as Eckerd recorded just one shot early and it was their only shot of the first half. The 'Fish began to see more of the ball in the midfield and their own defensive third but they managed just four shots in the first half as their goalless streak grew to seven halves. The two sides went into the locker room tied 0-0.

A system change to begin the second half saw the Sailfish completely control the game for the remaining 45 minutes. PBA saw all of the ball and looked to get in behind the Tritons' defense. The only question became would the Sailfish breakthrough, and after 30 minutes of play in the second half, despite multiple chances, they had not. Federico Serra had a curler from outside-the-box saved, and Jared Brown had a breakaway chance that was saved by the foot of the Eckerd keeper. The goal finally came for the 'Fish in the 76th minute as a corner was brought down in the box by Yannick Toth. He played a through ball to Serra who poked home the shot for his third goal of the year.

A handball outside the box from the Triton goalie resulted in a PBA free kick in the 83rd minute. Toth stepped up and scored his third free-kick goal of the season and his fifth overall, putting the ball perfectly into the top-right corner of the net that put the game away for good. Serra struck the post in the second half as well, as the dominant 45-minute display saw PBA outshoot Eckerd 11-1 and 15-2 in the match. Tim Kuhl was rarely troubled making the start in the PBA net but was called upon to make one save on a deflected shot from range and he did.

The win for the Sailfish sets up a huge showdown on Thursday at the Rinker Athletic Campus against Nova Southeastern. PBA can guarantee themselves a place in the SSC Tournament with a victory.