Soccer Preview: Clinton vs. West Bladen
Clinton has enjoyed a four-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will head out to take on the West Bladen Knights at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. Neither squad made it on the board the last time they hit the pitch, so they've probably got a bit of extra motivation.
Clinton is probably headed into the match with a chip on their shoulder considering Franklin Academy just ended the team's nine-game winning streak on Thursday. They took a 3-1 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Patriots. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as the Dark Horses came into the matchup with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina soccer rankings (they are ranked 18th, while the Patriots are ranked 60th).
Clinton's goal came courtesy of
Griffin Williams, who's now up to 20 this season.
Meanwhile, West Bladen lost 9-1 to St. Pauls on Wednesday. Aiden Russ was hit with a yellow card, which may have had some impact on his (and the team's) ability to make aggressive plays.
Clinton's defeat ended a seven-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 17-2. As for West Bladen, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost five of their last six contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 7-6 record this season.
Everything went Clinton's way against West Bladen in their previous meeting on October 2nd, as Clinton made off with a 9-0 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Clinton since the team won't have the home-pitch advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
