Soccer Game Preview: Portland vs. Lakewood

The Portland Raiders will venture away from home to face off against the Lakewood Vikings at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Portland's offense has struggled lately (the team hasn't scored more than a single goal for three straight games), a trend the team is no doubt ready to end.

Monday just wasn't the day for Portland's offense. They fell just short of Ionia by a score of 1-0 last Monday.

Meanwhile, after failing to score in their last match, Lakewood made sure to put some goals up on the board against Waverly on Monday. Their defense stepped up to hand the Warriors a 7-0 shutout. Considering Lakewood's offense had been struggling lately, the high-scoring outing was a much-needed turnaround.

Lakewood's win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 4-6. Those road victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they scored 20 goals over those three contests. As for Portland, they now have a losing record of 2-3.

Portland couldn't quite get it done against Lakewood in their previous matchup back in April of 2024 as they fell 2-0. Can the Raiders avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.