Soccer Game Preview: Independence Academy vs. Antioch

The Independence Academy Lions will take on the Antioch Bears at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Independence Academy is headed into the matchup having not lost since March 30 and will look to keep things rolling. They were the clear victors by a 5-1 margin over KIPP Global on Tuesday. Considering Independence Academy have won five matches by more than two goals this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.

They hit KIPP Global with a three-pronged attack, as the team got scores from Tristan Ramirez (3), Hugo Alamos-Castor, and Luis Contreras.

Meanwhile, Antioch narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past Lawson 2-1. Given Antioch's advantage in MaxPreps' Tennessee soccer rankings (they are ranked 107th, while Lawson are ranked 218th) , the result on Tuesday wasn't entirely unexpected.

Independence Academy is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 8-2-1 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they scored 23 goals over those five matchups. As for Antioch, their victory bumped their record up to 8-6-1.

Independence Academy might still be hurting after the 7-1 loss they got from Antioch in their previous meeting back in April of 2023. Can the Lions avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.