Soccer Game Preview: Mainland vs. New Smyrna Beach

Mainland hasn't had much luck against New Smyrna Beach recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Mainland Buccaneers will face off against the New Smyrna Beach Barracudas at 6:00 p.m. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Mainland is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Deltona, sneaking past 2-1. The victory was some much needed relief for the Buccaneers as it spelled an end to their five-game losing streak.

Meanwhile, New Smyrna Beach had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 3.7 goals) and they went ahead and made it four last Wednesday. They came out on top against the Seminoles by a score of 3-1. That's two games straight that the Barracudas have won by exactly two goals.

They hit Seminole with a three-pronged attack, as the team got scores from Skya Horth, Aubree Hickman, and Alaina Harden.

New Smyrna Beach pushed their record up to 12-3-2 with the win, which was their third straight at home. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they scored 14 goals over those three games. As for Mainland, their victory bumped their record up to 4-16.

Mainland suffered a grim 8-0 defeat to New Smyrna Beach when the teams last played back in November of 2024. Can Mainland avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.