Soccer Game Preview: Ventura vs. Rio Mesa

The Ventura Cougars are taking a road trip to challenge the Rio Mesa Spartans at 5:15 p.m. on Wednesday.

Ventura's defense heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Monday. Everything went their way against Pacifica as Ventura made off with a 3-0 victory. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Cougars.

Meanwhile, while Rio Mesa scored more goals than they have all season, the final result was a bit underwhelming. They and Santa Barbara finished up their game with a 2-2 draw on Monday. The result was nothing new for the Spartans as the squad haven't won a game since December 19, 2024.

Ventura has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four contests, which provided a massive bump to their 4-5-3 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they scored 11 goals over those four matchups. Rio Mesa's draw gives them a new season record of 1-8-4.

Ventura came up short against Rio Mesa in their previous meeting back in February of 2024, falling 3-1. Can Ventura avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.