Soccer Game Preview: Junipero Serra vs. Archbishop Mitty

The Junipero Serra Padres will venture away from home to square off against the Archbishop Mitty Monarchs at 3:15 p.m. on Wednesday. Junipero Serra is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 2.5 goals per game this season.

Junipero Serra will roll into the contest after a wild two-game stretch: they didn't score any goals on Wednesday, then bounced right back against Archbishop Riordan on Saturday. Junipero Serra's defense stepped up to hand Archbishop Riordan a 5-0 shutout. Given the Padres' advantage in MaxPreps' California soccer rankings (they are ranked 107th, while the Crusaders are ranked 790th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Junipero Serra hit Archbishop Riordan with a three-pronged attack, as the team got scores from Aydin Paz (2), Nate Coughlin (2), and Esteban Velasquez.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Archbishop Mitty, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Wednesday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 1-0 win over Saint Francis on Saturday. The victory continues a trend for the Monarchs in their matchups with the Lancers: they've now won four in a row.

Junipero Serra's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 11-4-2. Those victories came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only given up zero goals over those three matches. As for Archbishop Mitty, their record now sits at 9-3-5.

Everything went Junipero Serra's way against Archbishop Mitty when the teams last played back in January, as Junipero Serra made off with a 5-0 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Junipero Serra since the team won't have the home-pitch advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.