Soccer Game Preview: Downers Grove North vs. Oak Park-River Forest

Downers Grove North is 2-8 against Oak Park-River Forest since September of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Trojans will head out to face off against the Huskies at 6:15 p.m. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Downers Grove North was handed a three-goal loss in their previous outing, but that didn't affect their clutch gene on Tuesday. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past Glenbard West 2-1. The win was all the more spectacular given Downers Grove North's disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois soccer rankings (they are ranked 116th, while Glenbard West are ranked 20th).

Grigore Onica and Ty Peboontom scored both of Downers Grove North's goals, bringing their combined season tally to 12 goals.

Meanwhile, Oak Park-River Forest came tearing into Tuesday's match with four straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 4 goals), and they left with even more momentum. They put the hurt on the Panthers with a sharp 3-0 victory. Oak Park-River Forest's defense has been rock solid lately; the team hasn't given up a goal in their last five contests.

Oak Park-River Forest's win bumped their record up to 14-2-2. As for Downers Grove North, the victory got them back to even at 10-10-1.