Soccer Game Preview: New Hanover vs. Topsail

The New Hanover Wildcats will face off against the Topsail Pirates at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday. New Hanover's last three contests have been decided by no more than a goal, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.

New Hanover is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of North Carolina's top teams: Ashley, who was ranked 20th at the time (New Hanover was ranked 23rd). The Wildcats fell just short of the Screaming Eagle by a score of 2-1 on Monday. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last five times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.

Meanwhile, Topsail had just enough and edged out West Brunswick 2-1 on Monday. Timmy Hiles had to tread lightly for part of the match after he was hit with a yellow card, but that was the only trouble Topsail got from the refs.

Jax Lawrence and Hiles scored both of Topsail's goals, bringing their combined season tally to 24 goals.

New Hanover's loss dropped their record down to 12-5-2. As for Topsail, their win ended a three-match drought on the road and puts them at 10-9-3.