Soccer Game Preview: Merrill vs. Menomonie

The Merrill Bluejays are taking a road trip to challenge the Menomonie Mustangs at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Merrill's offense has struggled lately (the team hasn't scored more than a single goal for ten straight games), a trend the team is no doubt ready to end.

It was a Battle of the Birds when Merrill took on Lakeland on Tuesday. The Bluejays came up short against the Thunderbirds, falling 3-0. While losing is never fun, Merrill can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Wisconsin soccer rankings (they are ranked 226th, while Lakeland are ranked 68th).

For whatever reason, it's the away team that's had the advantage when Menomonie and Chippewa Falls meet (three straight games heading into this one) and that held true again on Tuesday. The Mustangs fell just short of the Cardinals by a score of 1-0. Menomonie haven't had much luck with Chippewa Falls recently, as the team has come up short the last three times they've met.

Merrill's defeat dropped their record down to 1-8-1. As for Menomonie, their loss dropped their record down to 0-13-1.

Merrill suffered a grim 4-0 defeat to Menomonie when the teams last played back in April of 2025. Can the Bluejays avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.