Soccer Game Preview: Hanover Central vs. Valparaiso

The Hanover Central Wildcats will take on the Valparaiso Vikings at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. Hanover Central is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 3.8 goals per game this season.

Valparaiso better have a healthy lead at halftime, because if Hanover Central's game on Saturday is any indication, that's when Hanover Central really gets things going. The Wildcats' defense stepped up to hand Culver Academies a 5-0 shutout. Kevin Otworowski was a massive factor in the win as he booted in three goals all by himself.

Hanover Central used a slightly different lineup for their bout with Culver Academies. Mark Pena played for 60 minutes having averaged 31.4 this season and Owen Sosnowski got 80 vs. an average of 50.8. Pena 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.

Meanwhile, while it was all tied up 0-0 at halftime, Valparaiso was not quite Crown Point's equal in the second half on Wednesday. They fell just short of the Bulldogs by a score of 1-0. The loss was Valparaiso's first of the season.

Hanover Central is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 10-3 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they scored 27 goals over those six matches. Having lost for the first time this season, Valparaiso fell to 10-1-2.