Soccer Game Preview: Richlands vs. Croatan

A feisty cat fight will be fought as Richlands duke it out with Croatan at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Neither squad made it on the board the last time they hit the pitch, so they've probably got a bit of extra motivation.

Richlands fought the good fight in their overtime game against Dixon on Tuesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Bulldogs by a score of 1-0. Richlands have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Meanwhile, Croatan kept a clean sheet against West Carteret on Tuesday. They skirted past the Patriots 1-0. Given Croatan's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina soccer rankings (they are ranked 108th, while West Carteret are ranked 222nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Croatan's one-goal win came courtesy of Kaitlyn Sickles, who's now up to five this season.

The win made it two in a row for Croatan and bumps their season record up to 4-1-2. Those victories came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only given up zero goals over those two matchups. As for Richlands, they now have a losing record of 5-6-1.

Richlands beat Croatan 2-0 when the teams last played back in April of 2024. Will Richlands repeat their success, or does Croatan has a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.