BOCA RATON, Fla. – Lynn University's men's soccer team continued its dominance over Palm Beach Atlantic following a 5-0 drubbing on Wednesday afternoon. Sam Shorrocks scored his first career goal and tallied two assists while three other members of the Fighting Knights notched their first career points. Lynn has won three straight to improve to 10-4 overall.
The Blue & White are now 15-0-0 all-time against the Sailfish since first meeting in 1986. This marks the third consecutive year LU has won by a score of 5-0 and gives the Knights 11 shutouts in 15 match-ups.
A flat first half put Lynn's unbeaten streak against PBA (6-7-0) in doubt. The Fighting Knights managed just one shot on goal and couldn't combine on passes to move the ball forward. Meanwhile, the Sailfish's Kevin Ireland broke free inside the box for a shot but Matt DiCerbo made a diving save to keep the game scoreless.
Lynn's offense broke out in a big way in the second half. It took a mere 1 minute and 42 seconds for Heiko Eberhardt to find the back of the net. He easily out-jumped his defender and headed in the corner from Shorrocks underneath the crossbar.
Shorrocks then made it a 2-0 Knights lead in the 65th minute. Doing his best "Bend It Like Beckham" impersonation, the Loughborough, England, native bent his free kick from 30-yards out around the five-man wall towards the right post for his first goal.
Harald Gracholski added the third goal for Lynn in the 70th minute as the offensive floodgates stayed open. Stefan Wolf started the play with a magnificent run down the right sideline before fooling his defender with a no-look heel pass to Michael Kutscher. The German connection continued when Kutscher sent in a cross from the back line to the left post with Gracholski unleashing a powerful scissor-kick for the goal.
After playing set-up on the previous score, Wolf was the beneficiary of some sly passing. Shorrocks slipped in Thor Olafs with a needle-threading pass and Olafs made a sliding pass inside the box for Wolf. The senior out of Rostock, Germany, beat PBA keeper Steven Bush with a shot to the center of net.
Ryan Birch gave LU a season-high five goals with his first career score in the 89th minute. Taking in a pass from Joe Boyle near the top of the 18-yard box, Birch fired a shot off the fingertips of Bush into the net. Birch, Boyle and Olafs earned their first score sheet nods.
Lynn outshot Palm Beach Atlantic 15-5 with DiCerbo and Robbie Hannon combining for LU's eighth shutout of the season. Bush tallied three saves for PBA.
The Fighting Knights return to the pitch on Friday, October 21, at 3 p.m. when they host Florida Memorial. Fans can listen to the match live at www.LynnFightingKnights.com and selecting the Game Central icon and receive in-game tweets by following Sports Information Director Chad Beattie @Chad_BT.
