Soccer Preview: Blue Ridge vs. Northland Prep Academy
Blue Ridge has been on the road for four straight, but on Thursday they'll finally head home. They will host the Northland Prep Academy Spartans at 6:00 p.m. Keep an eye on the score for this one: both posted some lofty goal totals in their previous games.
Blue Ridge is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Arizona's top teams: Snowflake, who was ranked fourth in their home state at the time (Blue Ridge was ranked fifth). Blue Ridge skirted past Snowflake 4-3. Four seems to be a good number for the Yellow Jackets as the squad scooped up a victory with the same number of goals in their previous game.
They hit Snowflake with a three-pronged attack, as the team got scores from
Myli Hamblin (2),
Sharlene Avila Sanchez, and
Katelyn Knippers.
Meanwhile, Northland Prep Academy kept a clean sheet against Chino Valley on Monday. Everything went their way against the Cougars as they made off with a 7-0 win. The Spartans might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won three matchups by three goals or more this season.
Northland Prep Academy used a slightly different lineup for their bout with Chino Valley. Three players got more time on the pitch than they're used to: Ryliegh LaFave (80), Hayden Massey (70), and Serena Dempsey (70). The trio had averaged 56.7, 46.7, and 37.5 minutes respectively before Monday's match. Dempsey made the most of the opportunity, scoring two goals and an assist and a steal. A few more games like that and she might be seeing even more time going forward.
Blue Ridge is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five games, which provided a nice bump to their 7-2 record this season. As for Northland Prep Academy, their victory bumped their record up to 5-1.
Blue Ridge might still be hurting after the 6-2 loss they got from Northland Prep Academy in their previous matchup back in October of 2023. Will Blue Ridge have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other soccer content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
