Soccer Game Preview: San Mateo vs. Carlmont

San Mateo hasn't had much luck against Carlmont recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The San Mateo Bearcats will host the Carlmont Scots at 4:30 p.m. San Mateo is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 5.2 goals per game this season.

San Mateo's defense heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. They walked away with a 2-0 win over Half Moon Bay. Given the Bearcats' advantage in MaxPreps' California soccer rankings (they are ranked 420th, while the Cougars are ranked 847th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Victoria Pena and Kayla Lichaa scored both of San Mateo's goals, bringing their combined season tally to 30 goals.

Meanwhile, Carlmont had already won eight in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 5.4 goals) and they went ahead and made it nine on Tuesday. They put the hurt on the Mustangs with a sharp 16-0 victory. The Scots' defense has been rock solid lately; the team hasn't given up a goal in their last nine games.

Carlmont pushed their record up to 14-4 with the win, which was their sixth straight at home. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they scored 41 goals over those six matchups. As for San Mateo, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 12-2.

San Mateo suffered a grim 4-0 defeat to Carlmont in their previous matchup back in January. Will San Mateo have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.