Soccer Game Preview: Pinckneyville vs. Mt. Vernon

The Pinckneyville Panthers will take on the Mt. Vernon Rams at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Pinckneyville will be strutting in after a victory while Mt. Vernon will be coming in after a defeat.

Mt. Vernon better have a healthy lead at halftime, because if Pinckneyville's game on Friday is any indication, that's when Pinckneyville really gets things going. The Panthers never let Massac County get on the board and left with a 5-0 win. Considering Pinckneyville have won eight matches by more than two goals this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.

Hannah Halsted and Vanessa Teel scored all five of Pinckneyville's goals, bringing their combined season tally to 33 goals.

Meanwhile, Mt. Vernon lost 8-2 to Marion on Tuesday. While losing is never fun, Mt. Vernon can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois soccer rankings (they are ranked 311th, while Marion are ranked 79th).

Pinckneyville has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 11-6-1 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they scored 17 goals over those four games. As for Mt. Vernon, their loss ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 8-9.

Pinckneyville took their win against Mt. Vernon in their previous matchup back in March by a conclusive 4-0 score. Do the Panthers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Rams turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.