Preview: Independence vs. Casteel
The Independence Patriots will head out on the road to square off against the Casteel Colts at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Independence is coming into the matchup hot, having won their last nine games.
It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Independence had no problem doing just that on Thursday. They skirted past the Vipers 1-0. Give Independence's defense some credit: that's the team's fourth straight shutout.
Their one-goal win came courtesy of
Julianna Palacios, who's now up to 14 this season.
Meanwhile, Casteel faced Campo Verde in a battle between two of the state's top teams. Casteel fell just short of Campo Verde by a score of 1-0. Having soared to a lofty seven goals in the game before, Casteel couldn't push the score so high this time.
Independence's win was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 16-4-1. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they scored 20 goals over those five games. As for Casteel, their defeat ended a four-game streak of away wins and brought them to 12-2-1.
Independence suffered a grim 11-0 defeat to Casteel when the teams last played back in December of 2021. Can Independence avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
