Soccer Game Preview: Sale Creek vs. Hixson

The Sale Creek Panthers will venture away from home to square off against the Hixson Wildcats at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Neither squad made it on the board the last time they hit the pitch, so they've probably got a bit of extra motivation.

For whatever reason, it's the away team that's had the advantage when Sale Creek and Bledsoe County meet (four straight games heading into this one) and that held true again last Tuesday. The Panthers lost 4-1 to the Warriors.

Sale Creek's goal came courtesy of Gracie Arnold, who's now up to 11 this season.

Meanwhile, Monday just wasn't the day for Hixson's offense. They came up short against Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts on Monday, falling 4-0. While losing is never fun, Hixson can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Tennessee soccer rankings (they are ranked 223rd, while Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts are ranked 89th).

Hixson has also been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four matches. That lines up perfectly with their 2-7-1 record this season. Those losses can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they scored 11 goals over those four matchups. As for Sale Creek, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-6.

Sale Creek suffered a grim 9-3 defeat to Hixson in their previous meeting back in September of 2020. Can the Panthers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.