Soccer Game Preview: Rancho Verde vs. Heritage

The Rancho Verde Mustangs and the Heritage Patriots will compete for holiday cheer at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Rancho Verde's offense has struggled lately (the team hasn't scored more than a single goal for nine straight games), a trend the team is no doubt ready to end.

Rancho Verde took a loss when they played away from home on Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Wednesday. They never let Santa Rosa Academy onto the board and left with a 1-0 victory. The Mustangs' winning goal came courtesy of MIA Z.

Meanwhile, Heritage might have been a little too into the holiday spirit, gifting Canyon Springs an easy 4-1 win.

Rancho Verde pushed their record up to 4-5-1 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. Those victories came thanks to their defensive effort, having only given up zero goals over those three matchups. As for Heritage, they have been struggling recently as they've lost four of their last five contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 7-5-1 record this season.