Soccer Game Preview: Lufkin vs. Walnut Grove

A feisty cat fight will be fought as Lufkin take on Walnut Grove at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday.

Lufkin is likely headed into the matchup with a focus on the second half, which is when things went downhill against Tyler Legacy on Monday. Lufkin fell just short of Tyler Legacy by a score of 2-1. While losing is never fun, the Panthers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Texas soccer rankings (they are ranked 126th, while the Raiders are ranked 26th).

Meanwhile, Walnut Grove put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their undefeated season alive. They never let Melissa get on the board and left with a 3-0 victory. The result was nothing new for the Wildcats, who have now won 14 games by three goals or more so far this season.

Mason Kutch and Christian Nardelli scored all three of Walnut Grove's goals, bringing their combined season tally to 38 goals.

Walnut Grove's win was their ninth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 19-0-2. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they scored 39 goals over those nine contests. As for Lufkin, their defeat dropped their record down to 11-6-5.