Soccer Game Preview: Liberty Ranch vs. Lathrop

The Liberty Ranch Hawks will face off against the Lathrop Spartans at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Liberty Ranch is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 3.9 goals per game this season.

Liberty Ranch is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They beat Weston Ranch by a goal, winning 2-1. Given the Hawks' advantage in MaxPreps' California soccer rankings (they are ranked 205th, while the Cougars are ranked 806th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Christian Maciel and Alan Montelongo scored both of Liberty Ranch's goals, bringing their combined season tally to 18 goals.

Meanwhile, Lathrop won against Beyer on Tuesday with one goal and they decided to stick to that goal total again on Friday. While the 1-1 score might suggest a draw, it was Lathrop who was credited with the win. Lathrop got it done in the shootout by posting five goals to Venture Academy's four. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Spartans.

Liberty Ranch has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 11 of their last 12 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 19-4 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only given up five goals over those 12 contests. As for Lathrop, their victory bumped their record up to 11-8.