Soccer Game Preview: Faith Lutheran vs. Western

The Faith Lutheran Crusaders will challenge the Western Warriors at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Faith Lutheran's last five matchups have been decided by no more than a goal, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.

Faith Lutheran is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Nevada's top teams: Palo Verde, who was ranked fourth at the time (Faith Lutheran was ranked sixth). The Crusaders fell just short of the Panthers by a score of 2-1 on Monday. One reason for the loss might be Faith Lutheran's aggressive play style: Maximilian Arndt and Troy DosSantos were both handed yellow cards.

Faith Lutheran's goal came courtesy of Nicholas Fitzgerald, who's now up to eight this season.

Meanwhile, Western had already won two in a row and they went ahead and made it three on Monday. Their defense stepped up to hand the Pioneers a 3-0 shutout.

Faith Lutheran's defeat ended a four-match streak of away wins and brought them to 11-5-5. As for Western, their victory bumped their record up to 7-8-1.

Faith Lutheran beat Western 2-0 in their previous matchup back in September. Will the Crusaders repeat their success, or do the Warriors have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.