Soccer Game Preview: Saint James vs. Sidwell Friends

Saint James hasn't had much luck against Sidwell Friends recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Saints will venture away from home to face off against the Quakers at 4:45 p.m.

Saint James is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another highly-ranked state team: Maret, who was ranked sixth in their home state at the time (Saint James was ranked 14th). The Saints took a 3-1 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Frogs on Friday. The matchup was a 1-1 toss-up at halftime, but Saint James couldn't quite close it out.

Their goal came courtesy of Jacob Versino, who's now up to nine this season.

Meanwhile, Sidwell Friends had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 3 goals) and they went ahead and made it three on Wednesday. They came out on top against the Mighty Hoppers by a score of 3-1.

Sidwell Friends used a slightly different lineup for their bout with Georgetown Day. Three players got more time on the pitch than they're used to: Ardashes Amparian (60), Angel Velasquez (80), and Apollo Holder (80). The trio had averaged 30, 54.8, and 41.3 minutes respectively before Wednesday's contest. Amparian made the most of the opportunity, putting up one assist A few more games like that and he might be seeing even more time going forward.

Sidwell Friends' victory bumped their record up to 9-6. As for Saint James, their loss dropped their record down to 3-13-1.

Saint James came up short against Sidwell Friends in their previous matchup back in September, falling 3-1. Can the Saints avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.