Soccer Game Preview: El Rancho vs. Nogales

The El Rancho Dons and the Nogales Nobles will compete for holiday cheer at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. El Rancho's last five contests have been decided by no more than a goal, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.

El Rancho's defense heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. They beat Montebello by a goal, winning 1-0. The Dons 's defense has been rock solid lately; the team hasn't given up a goal in their last three matches.

Meanwhile, Nogales had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 11.5 goals) and they went ahead and made it three on Wednesday. They blew past the Raiders 7-1. The high-flying offensive performance was a huge turnaround for the Nobles considering their one-goal performance the contest before.

El Rancho pushed their record up to 7-4 with the win, which was their fifth straight on the road. The wins came thanks to their defensive effort, having only given up one goal over those five games. As for Nogales, their victory bumped their record up to 5-1-1.

El Rancho took their win against Nogales when the teams last played back in November of 2022 by a conclusive 4-0. Will El Rancho repeat their success, or does Nogales have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.