Soccer Game Preview: Albany vs. El Cerrito

Albany and El Cerrito are an even 3-3-4 against one another since December of 2018, but likely not for long. The Albany Cougars will be playing in front of their home fans against the El Cerrito Gauchos at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Albany's last three matches have been decided by no more than a goal, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.

Last Tuesday, Albany sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 2-1 win over Pinole Valley. The Cougars wouldn't have won without Oliver Mann, who scored the game-winner.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask El Cerrito). They never let Swett onto the board and left with an 8-0 victory on Wednesday. Given the Gauchos' advantage in MaxPreps' California soccer rankings (they are ranked 169th, while the Warriors are ranked 1226th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Albany pushed their record up to 6-1-5 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they scored 11 goals over those four contests. As for El Cerrito, their victory bumped their record up to 8-2-2.