WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.- The Palm Beach Atlantic men's soccer tied Embry-Riddle 1-1 on Wednesday in a dramatic, physical affair.
Fritz Burger scored at 75:15 off a perfect assist from
Dominic Breidenbach to equalize after the Sailfish trailed 1-0 for almost the entirety of the match. The 'Fish put six of their eight shots on goal and in an impressive defensive effort, held Embry-Riddle to three shots on goal on 11 attempts.
The Sailfish fell behind early. An Elliot Mills cross found the stretched out leg of Lukas Bludau making it 1-0. The home side responded with early pressure, earning corners at four minutes, 36 seconds, and 11:35 while
Ole Lichter forced three saves from Marcos da Silva in the first 24 minutes. The 'Fish continued to generate chances after the match grew more physical, with
Luis Edmondson and
Kobi Thomas also putting shots on target before
Robi Lukau was shown a yellow card at 34:28. Embry-Riddle (FL) pressed late, but
Flavio Giannini saved Rimon Beyene's shot in the 37th minute, and the Sailfish reached halftime trailing 1-0.
Burger brought the 'Fish level in the second half, scoring off Breidenbach's assist at 75:15 to make it 1-1. Earlier, the Sailfish earned three corner kicks in the half, including two before the 69th minute, before Embry-Riddle (FL) put a shot over the top in the 71st. After the equalizer, the 'Fish held through a stretch of Embry-Riddle (FL) pressure that included a corner kick and three shots, with Giannini making a game-saving save on a wide open Eagle at 85:54. The Sailfish added a corner kick at 86:24 but couldn't connect.
PBA thought they had taken the lead inside 90 seconds remaining in the match.
Jesse Oostendorp won a foul at midfield. As
Fabio Reck played the free kick quickly,
Simon Buechte found an open
Kobi Thomas to slot it home. Given a goal at first, however, after a referee huddle, they determined the play had been stopped after a whistle as Reck was taking the free kick.
The Sailfish continued their pressure and had a couple more chances. Burger had the best chance as he battled for the ball to create space and his right footed attempt just flew over the cross bar in the final minute, and the match finished tied at 1-1.
The Sailfish head on the road on Monday for the 2026 SSC Men's Soccer Tournament quarterfinal round. The opponent is still to be determined.
