Soccer Game Preview: Beech vs. Merrol Hyde Magnet

The Beech Buccaneers are taking a road trip to square off against the Merrol Hyde Magnet Hawks at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Merrol Hyde Magnet will be up against a hot Beech squad: the team just extended their winning streak to five. The Buccaneers were the clear victors by a 5-1 margin over Mount Juliet on Tuesday. Given Beech's advantage in MaxPreps' Tennessee soccer rankings (they are ranked 41st, while Mount Juliet are ranked 178th) , the win wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Merrol Hyde Magnet). Their defense stepped up to hand Whites Creek a 9-0 shutout on Tuesday. The high-flying offensive performance was a huge turnaround for Merrol Hyde Magnet considering their one-goal performance the game before.

Their offense was hitting Whites Creek from everywhere, as seven different players booted in a goal. Jaxon Wayland led that balanced group of strikers and accounted for two goals all by himself.

Beech pushed their record up to 8-4-2 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they scored 13 goals over those three matches. As for Merrol Hyde Magnet, they now have a winning record of 6-5-2.

Beech was able to grind out a solid victory over Merrol Hyde Magnet in their previous matchup back in May of 2024, winning 4-2. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Buccaneers since the squad won't have the home-pitch advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.