WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The Palm Beach Atlantic men's soccer team kicked off its 2024 season today with an emphatic home victory against Spring Hill. The Sailfish overpowered the Badgers in the second half to come away with a 6-1 win and move to 1-0 on their season. 

The visitors were pesky enough to frustrate the Sailfish in the opening half of play. Despite having a majority of possession and dominating the run of play, PBA was held scoreless in the first 45 minutes of play. The 'Fish outshot the Badgers 11-5 in the first half, forcing eight Spring Hill saves but were held at bay. The breakthrough in the half came as the PBA defense got caught on the ball resulting in a turnover. The following Badger breakaway was capitalized on, putting the roadside up 1-0 in the first half.

The game was a tale of two different halves as PBA was much more clinical in the second 45 minutes when their scoring opportunities arose. That first chance of the second half came just 50 seconds into the second period of play when Agustin Iusem fired a left-footed rocket from outside the box that found the top-left corner and tied the game.

After equalizing, the two sides traded scoring blows.  Rufus Roth made a potentially game-saving tackle on a SHC breakaway to save a goal and from that point on, it was all Sailfish. In the 60th minute, Iusem was brought down in the box and was able to convert the penalty to give the 'Fish the lead. PBA depth was on display in the second half as two bench pieces connected as Marius Brondbo played a ball across the box that Livio Von Holzen scored. 

The PBA pressure continued as a Kevonte Willoughby-Williams ball across the box was redirected by a Spring Hill defender into the goal just two minutes later to make the score 4-1. Thirty seconds later, Willoughby-Williams was at it again as he got behind the defense and squared a ball to Brondbo who scored his first PBA goal. In the final minute of the game, Harry Gardner found the back of the net which was the icing on the cake for the Sailfish's second-half performance.

PBA outshot the Badgers 21-10 for the game and did a good job protecting goalie Omar Einarsson who was forced to make just four saves on the day. The Sailfish will look to build on the dominant second-half performance as they hit the road next for a two-game road trip in Alabama next week against Huntsville and West Alabama.