Soccer Game Preview: John Paul II vs. Incarnate Word Academy

The John Paul II Centurions will square off against the Incarnate Word Academy Angels at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams are strolling into their matches after big wins in their previous games.

John Paul II barely beat The Christian School at Castle Hills the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Centurions were the clear victors by a 4-1 margin over the Eagles on Monday. The high-scoring performance was a welcome turnaround for John Paul II's offense, which had struggled in the games prior.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Incarnate Word Academy). They never let Science and Tech get on the board and left with an 8-0 win on Monday. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest victory of the season.

Incarnate Word Academy has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 7-4 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they scored 14 goals over those four matchups. As for John Paul II, their victory was their first in the district, bumping their district record up to 1-2 and their overall record up to 6-6-1.

John Paul II came up short against Incarnate Word Academy in their previous meeting back in February of 2025, falling 2-0. Can the Centurions avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.