MELBOURNE, Fla. (Men's Soccer) – Florida Tech men's soccer fell to No. 2-ranked Palm Beach Atlantic, 1-0, in its regular season finale Friday night at Rick Stottler Field.

The Panthers conclude the regular season at 9-5 overall and 6-4 in the Sunshine State Conference. PBA, the SSC regular season champion, ended the season undefeated at 14-0-2 and 9-0-1 in league play.

It was an even and hard fought matchup between the two teams. Florida Tech held the narrow edge in total shots, 8-7, while Palm Beach Atlantic doubled-up the Panthers in corner kicks, 6-3. Both teams finished with three shots on goal.

Christopher Page, who dropped to 7-4 on the season, made two saves in the FIT net. His counterpart for PBA, Elliott Barker, improved to 9-0-2 and registered three saves in goal.

Each team had their opportunities to light up the scoreboard in the game. PBA's Claudio Rivadeneira had a great chance to open the scoring in the 21st minute but his attempt rang off the post and trickled in front of the Panther net until it was finally cleared by Mikkel Roeisland.

In the 67th minute, SSC leading scorer Brandon Smalley beat his defender on the left wing and fired a shot that appeared to be heading towards the lower right corner of the goal. However, Barker was able to make a diving save for PBA to keep the score at 0-0.

Moments later, in the 70th minute, Roeisland connected on a Josh Thomas free kick and headed the ball to an uncovered left side of the goal but it struck the post and it bounced back to midfield.

Then, in the 83rd minute on a PBA corner kick, Fredo Dilbert launched the ball over Page's outstretched hands and to the far post where teammate Charlie Dennis was waiting to capitalize. Dennis collected the corner and fired it past Page for the eventual game-winner.

The Panthers were unable to create another serious challenge the rest of the game and the Sailfish were able to escape with the win.

Florida Tech must now prepare for a new season with the SSC Tournament starting next Tuesday, Oct. 31. The Panthers must await the result of the matchup between Lynn and Florida Southern on Saturday night to determine who and where they will be playing their conference quarterfinal.

If Lynn defeats Florida Southern, the Panthers will be the No. 5 seed in the eight-team tournament and will face No. 4 seed Rollins in the first game. However, if the Fighting Knights lose to the Moccasins, Florida Tech will be the 4-seed and host No. 5 Florida Southern on Tuesday at Rick Stottler Field.

As league champion, PBA earned the No. 1 seed in the SSC Men's Soccer Tournament and the right to host the semifinals and final next week, on Friday, Nov. 3, and Saturday, Nov. 5, at Rinker Athletic Campus in West Palm Beach. Tampa earned the 2-seed and, along with PBA, will have a bye in the first round of the tournament.

Stay tuned to FloridaTechSports.com for the Panthers' opponent and the location of the game on Tuesday.