Soccer Game Preview: Rancho Mirage vs. Palm Desert

The Rancho Mirage Rattlers will head out on the road to take on the Palm Desert Aztecs at 5:30 p.m. on Monday.

Rancho Mirage's defense heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They were the clear victor by a 6-0 margin over Xavier Prep. Given the Rattlers' advantage in MaxPreps' California soccer rankings (they are ranked 198th, while the Saints are ranked 1161st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, for the first time since back in December of 2024, Palm Desert was forced to settle for a draw on Friday. They and La Quinta finished up their game with a 2-2 draw.

Rancho Mirage is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine contests, which provided a nice bump to their 11-3-3 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they scored 28 goals over those nine matches. With that draw, Palm Desert's record moves to 8-8-4.

Rancho Mirage skirted past Palm Desert 2-1 in their previous matchup on January 8th. The rematch might be a little tougher for Rancho Mirage since the squad won't have the home-pitch advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.