Preview: University Prep vs. Live Oak
University Prep has enjoyed the comforts of home their last four games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will square off against the Live Oak Lions at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
University Prep had already proven themselves in the regular season, and didn't miss a beat now that it's playoff time. They never let Corning onto the board and left with a 3-0 win on Tuesday. University Prep's defense has been rock solid lately; the team hasn't given up a goal in their last 13 matchups.
Meanwhile, Live Oak entered their tilt with Orland with ten consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with 11. Live Oak blew past Orland 4-1. Given Live Oak's advantage in MaxPreps' California soccer rankings (they are ranked 302nd, while Orland is ranked 627th), the result on Tuesday wasn't entirely unexpected.
University Prep pushed their record up to 15-4-2 with that win, which was their eighth straight at home. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they scored 39 goals over those eight matches. As for Live Oak, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 16 of their last 17 games, which provided a nice bump to their 21-1-1 record this season.
University Prep took their win against Live Oak when the teams last played back in February of 2023 by a conclusive 4-0. The rematch might be a little tougher for University Prep since the team won't have the home-pitch advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
