Soccer Game Preview: Union vs. Pender + How To Watch

The Union Spartans will challenge the Pender Patriots at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Pender took a loss in their last contest and will be looking to turn the tables on Union, who comes in off a win.

Pender will challenge a team with plenty of momentum: Union extended their winning streak to three on Wednesday. The Spartans walked away with a 5-3 win over Lakewood. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last three times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.

Meanwhile, there was early excitement for Pender after they claimed the first goal on Wednesday, however, they wouldn't score again. They fell 3-1 to East Duplin. While losing is never fun, Pender can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina soccer rankings (they are ranked 405th, while East Duplin are ranked 140th).

Union's victory bumped their record up to 11-5. As for Pender, their loss ended a four-match streak of wins at home and dropped them to 5-9-2.

Union beat Pender 4-2 when the teams last played back in August. Will the Spartans repeat their success, or do the Patriots have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.