Soccer Game Preview: Ariton vs. Dale County

The Ariton Purple Cats will face off against the Dale County Warriors at 7:15 p.m. on Friday. Both teams beat their previous opponents by a single goal, so this matchup might be just as contested.

Dale County will be up against a hot Ariton squad: the team just extended their winning streak to three. Ariton came within a single goal of losing the streak, but they secured a 2-1 W against Long.

Meanwhile, Dale County kept a clean sheet against New Brockton on Thursday. They narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past the Gamecocks 1-0. While the Warriors didn't have the best season last year (they finished 8-11), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.

Dale County has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 6-3 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they scored 16 goals over those five matchups. Ariton's victory was their first in the region, bumping their region record up to 1-2 and their overall record up to 4-7-1.

Ariton skirted past Dale County 3-2 in their previous matchup back in April of 2024. Will Ariton repeat their success, or does Dale County have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.