Soccer Game Preview: St. Thomas Aquinas vs. Lakewood Ranch

The St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders will challenge the Lakewood Ranch Mustangs at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with St. Thomas Aquinas sitting on six straight victories and Lakewood Ranch on eight.

St. Thomas Aquinas is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. Their defense stepped up to hand Cooper City a 6-0 shutout. Considering the Raiders have won 14 games by more than two goals this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.

Their offense was hitting Cooper City from everywhere, as five different players booted in a goal. Bianca Raskin led that balanced group of strikers and accounted for two goals all by herself.

Meanwhile, Lakewood Ranch sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 1-0 win over East Lake on Wednesday. Give the Mustangs' defense some credit: that's the team's fifth straight shutout.

St. Thomas Aquinas' victory was their ninth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 18-1. Those victories came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only given up zero goals over those nine matches. As for Lakewood Ranch, their win bumped their record up to 15-4.