Soccer Game Preview: Eastern Mennonite vs. Blue Ridge

The Eastern Mennonite Flames will head out on the road to take on the Blue Ridge Barons at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Eastern Mennonite will aim to continue their four-game streak of scoring more goals each match than the last.

Eastern Mennonite's defense heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. Everything went their way against Fishburne Military as they made off with a 6-0 victory. Eastern Mennonite might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five contests by three goals or more this season.

Eastern Mennonite used a slightly different lineup for their bout with Fishburne Military. Three players got more time on the pitch than they're used to: Noah May (29), Isaac Stoltzfus (47), and Nolan Kratz (43). The trio had averaged 14, 16.7, and 20.4 minutes respectively before Tuesday's match. Kratz made the most of the opportunity, scoring a goal A few more games like that and he might be seeing even more time going forward.

Meanwhile, Blue Ridge faced Seton in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Friday. The Barons fell 2-0 to the Conquistadors. Blue Ridge's defeat continues a trend for the squad, making it three in a row.

Blue Ridge's loss dropped their record down to 8-4-1. As for Eastern Mennonite, their win bumped their record up to 9-6-1.

Eastern Mennonite couldn't quite get it done against Blue Ridge in their previous meeting back in November of 2024 as they fell 2-0. Can the Flames avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.