Soccer Game Preview: Rifle vs. Basalt

The Rifle Bears are taking a road trip to square off against the Basalt Longhorns at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Rifle has given up an average of 3.5 goals per game this season, but Thursday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.

Rifle is coming in off a wild two-game stretch: after soaring to five goals on Saturday, they were much more limited against Delta on Tuesday. They lost 11-1 to the Panthers. Things were pretty much settled by the half as Rifle were already down 6-1.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Basalt). Their defense stepped up to hand Moffat County a 4-0 shutout on Saturday. The high-scoring effort was just what Basalt needed considering they were shut out in their previous contest.

Rifle has traveled a rocky road recently, having lost five of their last six matches. That's put a noticeable dent in their 4-7 record this season. As for Basalt, their victory was their first in the league, bumping their league record up to 1-3-1 and their overall record up to 2-6-2.

Rifle might still be hurting after the 5-0 loss they got from Basalt in their previous meeting back in April of 2024. Can the Bears avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.