Soccer Game Preview: East Lee County vs. Riverdale

The East Lee County Jaguars will face off against the Riverdale Raiders at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Neither squad made it on the board the last time they hit the pitch, so they've probably got a bit of extra motivation.

Last Thursday, East Lee County didn't have quite enough to beat Gateway and fell 2-1. The defeat continues a trend for the Jaguars in their matchups with the Eagles: they've now lost four in a row.

Meanwhile, while it was all tied up 0-0 at halftime, Riverdale was not quite Gulf Coast's equal in the second half on Thursday. They fell 2-0 to the Sharks. While losing is never fun, the Raiders can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida soccer rankings (they are ranked 340th, while the Sharks are ranked 168th).

Riverdale's loss dropped their record down to 4-8-3. As for East Lee County, their defeat dropped their record down to 10-7-1.

East Lee County took their victory against Riverdale in their previous matchup back in December of 2024 by a conclusive 4-0. The rematch might be a little tougher for East Lee County since the team won't have the home-pitch advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.