Soccer Game Preview: Athenian vs. Head-Royce

The Athenian Owls will head out to take on the Head-Royce Jayhawks at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Athenian's defense heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They were the clear victors by a 7-0 margin over Redwood Christian. The final result isn't all that surprising considering Athenian's considerable advantage in MaxPreps' California soccer rankings (they are ranked first, while Redwood Christian are ranked 34th).

Athenian's offense was hitting Redwood Christian from everywhere, as five different players booted in a goal. Koen Feyock led that balanced group of strikers and accounted for two goals all by himself.

Meanwhile, Head-Royce came tearing into Thursday's matchup with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 2.3 goals), and they left with even more momentum. They put the hurt on the Phoenix with a sharp 3-0 win. That's two games straight that Head-Royce have won by exactly three goals.

Head-Royce was without their leading scorer, Ibrahim Rashad, in Thursday's match. With Rashad sidelined, the Jayhawks had to make some changes to the lineup. Calvin Lee played for 50 minutes having averaged 20 this season.

Athenian's victory bumped their record up to 10-0. As for Head-Royce, their win bumped their record up to 7-1.

Athenian couldn't quite get it done against Head-Royce in their previous matchup back in October of 2024 as they fell 2-0. Can the Owls avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.