Soccer Game Preview: Alameda vs. Hayward

The Alameda Hornets will venture away from home to take on the Hayward Farmers at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Alameda will aim to continue their three-game streak of scoring more goals each matchup than the last.

Alameda will bounce into Friday's match after beating Piedmont, who they had gone 1-7-1 against in their nine prior meetings. The Hornets put the hurt on the Highlanders with a sharp 4-0 win on Tuesday. Give Alameda's defense some credit: that's the team's third straight shutout.

Meanwhile, Wednesday just wasn't the day for Hayward's offense. They lost 8-0 to Castro Valley on Wednesday. While losing is never fun, Hayward can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California soccer rankings (they are ranked 602nd, while Castro Valley are ranked 296th).

Alameda is on a roll lately: they've won ten of their last 11 contests. That's provided a massive bump to their 11-5-2 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only given up three goals over those 11 matchups. As for Hayward, they now have a losing record of 7-8.

Alameda skirted past Hayward 2-1 in their previous matchup back in January. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Hornets since the squad won't have the home-pitch advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.