Soccer Game Preview: Xavier vs. Cedar Falls

The Xavier Saints will challenge the Cedar Falls Tigers at 6:45 p.m. on Thursday.

Xavier is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Iowa's top teams: Iowa City, who was ranked seventh at the time (Xavier was ranked 18th). The Saints lost 3-0 to the Little Hawks on Tuesday. Xavier were red-hot offensively heading into the match (they scored no less than four goals in the four games prior), but Iowa City's defense proved too tough.

Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Cedar Falls faced off against Western Dubuque on Tuesday. The Tigers skirted past the Bobcats 2-1. The victory continues a trend for Cedar Falls in their matchups with Western Dubuque: they've now won three in a row.

Cedar Falls' win was their seventh straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 10-2. As for Xavier, with the defeat, they broke their five-game winning streak and moved their record to 5-2.

Xavier beat Cedar Falls by a goal in their previous matchup back in April of 2024, winning 3-2. Will the Saints repeat their success, or do the Tigers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.