Soccer Game Preview: Lemoore vs. Hanford

The Lemoore Tigers will head out on the road to face off against the Hanford Bullpups at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Lemoore's offense has struggled lately (the team hasn't scored more than a single goal for nine straight games), a trend the team is no doubt ready to end.

Last Thursday, Lemoore came up short against Tulare Western and fell 3-1. While losing is never fun, the Tigers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California soccer rankings (they are ranked 977th, while the Mustangs are ranked 234th).

Meanwhile, after failing to score in their last game, Hanford made sure to put some goals up on the board against Mission Oak on Saturday. Their defense stepped up to hand the Hawks a 6-0 shutout. Considering the Bullpups have won 11 matchups by more than two goals this season, Saturday's blowout was nothing new.

Jaya Laird and Kensyn Laird scored all six of Hanford's goals, bringing their combined season tally to 50 goals.

Hanford pushed their record up to 21-3 with the win, which was their ninth straight at home. The wins came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only given up four goals over those nine contests. As for Lemoore, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-14-3.

Lemoore might still be hurting after the 4-0 loss they got from Hanford when the teams last played back in January. Can Lemoore avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.