Soccer Game Preview: Ashland vs. Norton

The Ashland Clockers will head out on the road to face off against the Norton Lancers at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Ashland has three straight victories, Norton has three straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the pitch.

On Tuesday, Ashland was able to grind out a solid win over Bellingham, taking the game 3-1. The final result isn't all that surprising considering Ashland's considerable advantage in MaxPreps' Massachusetts soccer rankings (they are ranked 76th, while Bellingham are ranked 265th).

Meanwhile, Norton fell victim to Westwood and their airtight defense on Tuesday. They lost 4-0 to the Wolverines. That's two games in a row now that Norton have lost by exactly four goals.

Ashland's victory bumped their record up to 6-3-3. As for Norton, their loss dropped their record down to 2-8-3.

Everything went Ashland's way against Norton when the teams last played back in September of 2024, as Ashland made off with a 4-0 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Clockers since the squad won't have the home-pitch advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.