Soccer Game Preview: Champlain Valley Union vs. Essex

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Previous Games

09/29/25 - Home	6-0 W
09/03/25 - Away	2-1 W
10/18/24 - Home	3-0 W
09/17/24 - Away	2-1 W
10/27/23 - Neutral	0-1 L
+ 5 more games

Champlain Valley Union is 9-1 against Essex since October of 2019 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Sunday. The Redhawks will look to defend their home pitch against the Hornets at 2:00 p.m. Champlain Valley Union's defense has only allowed 0.4 goals per game this season, so Essex's offense will have their work cut out for them.

Champlain Valley Union is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Vermont's top teams: Mt. Mansfield, who was ranked ninth at the time (Champlain Valley Union was ranked first). The Redhawks fell just short of the Cougars by a score of 1-0 last Saturday. The loss was Champlain Valley Union's first of the season.

Meanwhile, it can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Essex had no problem doing just that on Saturday. Their defense stepped up to hand the Bobwhites/Comets a 2-0 shutout. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Essex.

Having lost for the first time this season, Champlain Valley Union fell to 12-1-1. As for Essex, the victory got them back to even at 7-7-1.

Champlain Valley Union took their win against Essex in their previous matchup back in September by a conclusive 6-0 score. Do the Redhawks have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Hornets turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.