Soccer Game Preview: Independence vs. James Lick

The Independence 76ers will head out to square off against the James Lick Comets at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Independence sitting on three straight wins and James Lick on four.

Last Friday, it was close, but Independence sidestepped San Jose for a 2-1 victory. That's two games straight that the 76ers have won by just one goal.

Jayden Pena and Percy Escalante scored both of Independence's goals, bringing their combined season tally to four goals.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask James Lick). Everything went their way against Evergreen Valley on Friday as James Lick made off with a 6-1 win. The matchup was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 4-1.

James Lick's lineup was just a bit different on Friday as Yahir Rodriguez got a bit more time on the pitch (90 vs. his season average of 45). Rodriguez made the most of the opportunity, putting up one assist A few more games like that and he might be seeing even more time going forward.

Independence's victory bumped their record up to 3-0. As for James Lick, their win bumped their record up to 6-3.

Independence came up short against James Lick in their previous meeting back in February of 2024, falling 2-0. Can Independence avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.