Preview: Wheatland vs. Natomas
The Wheatland Pirates will take on the Natomas Nighthawks at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Wheatland is coming into the match hot, having won their last six games.
With a playoff game on the line, Wheatland rose to the challenge on Friday. They skirted past the Warriors 2-1. Given Wheatland's advantage in MaxPreps' California soccer rankings (they are ranked 329th, while Orestimba is ranked 699th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Wheatland was led to victory by the tag-team duo of
Tanner Scott and
Branden Valeriano, who scored both of Wheatland's goals. The pair have combined for a total of 14 so far this season.
Meanwhile, Natomas kept a clean sheet against Johnson on Monday. They had just enough and edged the Warriors out 1-0. The result kept Natomas happy, as they haven't lost a game since January 12th.
Wheatland has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won ten of their last 11 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 17-2-3 record this season. As for Natomas, their win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-3-4.
Wheatland skirted past Natomas 4-3 in their previous matchup back in February of 2023. Will Wheatland repeat their success, or does Natomas have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
