Soccer Game Preview: Niles West vs. Vernon Hills

The Niles West Wolves are taking a road trip to square off against the Vernon Hills Cougars at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Niles West is coming into the matchup hot, having won their last four games.

Niles West is headed in fresh off scoring the most goals they have all season. Their defense stepped up to hand Maine East a 9-0 shutout on Tuesday. The final result isn't all the surprising considering Niles West's considerable advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois soccer rankings (they are ranked 135th, while Maine East are ranked 365th).

Meanwhile, for the first time since back in March, Vernon Hills was forced to settle for a draw on Tuesday. They and Niles North finished up their contest with a 1-1 draw.

Vernon Hills' draw gives them a new season record of 2-6-2. As for Niles West, the win got them back to even at 5-5-1.

Niles West suffered a grim 3-0 defeat to Vernon Hills when the teams last played back in April of 2024. Can Wolves avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.