Soccer Game Preview: Pioneer vs. Winters

The Pioneer Patriots will hit the road for the first time this season to square off against the Winters Warriors at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Pioneer's last three matches have been decided by no more than a goal, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.

Pioneer is likely headed into the contest with a focus on the second half, which is when things went downhill against Grant on Thursday. Pioneer fell just short of Grant by a score of 2-1.

Meanwhile, Winters might have been a little too into the holiday spirit, gifting Woodland an easy 5-1 win. While losing is never fun, the Warriors can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California soccer rankings (they are ranked 535th, while Wolves are ranked 13th).

Pioneer now has a losing record at 1-2-1. As for Winters, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 2-2-1.

Pioneer took their victory against Winters in their previous meeting back in December of 2023 by a conclusive 5-0. The rematch might be a little tougher for Pioneer since the squad won't have the home-pitch advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.