Soccer Game Preview: Otay Ranch vs. Mater Dei Catholic

The Otay Ranch Mustangs will face off against the Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Otay Ranch is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 2.6 goals per game this season.

On Tuesday, Otay Ranch beat Castle Park 3-1. The Mustangs better thank their lucky stars for the performance of Hiram Mora, as he scored every single goal for his team.

Meanwhile, Mater Dei Catholic had already won five in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 4.4 goals) and they went ahead and made it six on Tuesday. They walked away with a 3-1 win over the Spartans. Given the Crusaders' advantage in MaxPreps' California soccer rankings (they are ranked 68th, while the Spartans are ranked 588th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Mater Dei Catholic pushed their record up to 15-1-3 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they scored 21 goals over those four matchups. As for Otay Ranch, their win bumped their record up to 8-6-8.

Otay Ranch came up short against Mater Dei Catholic when the teams last played two weeks ago, falling 4-2. Will Otay Ranch have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.