Soccer Game Preview: Ashland vs. Mansfield Christian

The Ashland Arrows will take on the Mansfield Christian Flames at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Ashland is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 4.1 goals per game this season.

Ashland barely beat Mansfield Senior the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Arrows' defense stepped up to hand the Tygers a 9-0 shutout on Tuesday. Given Ashland's advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio soccer rankings (they are ranked 169th, while Mansfield Senior are ranked 401st) , the win wasn't entirely unexpected.

Ashland's offense was hitting Mansfield Senior from everywhere, as seven different players booted in a goal. Luke Lavengood led that balanced group of strikers and accounted for two goals all by himself.

Meanwhile, Mansfield Christian hadn't done well against Central Christian recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Friday. The Flames came out on top in a nail-biter against the Comets, sneaking past 1-0. The game was the first time Mansfield Christian have beaten Central Christian on their pitch since October 3, 2017.

Ashland is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 9-6 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they scored 29 goals over those four matches. As for Mansfield Christian, their victory bumped their record up to 8-6-1.

Everything went Ashland's way against Mansfield Christian when the teams last played back in August of 2019, as Ashland made off with a 3-0 win. Will the Arrows repeat their success, or do the Flames have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.