Soccer Preview: Willard Meets Nixa

Willard is 1-7 against Nixa since September 2017 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The game is scheduled at 6:30 p.m. Nixa is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 4.0 goals per game this season.

Fans were treated to a battle of the Tigers on Tuesday. Willard lost 8-0 to Ozark.

Meanwhile, Nixa entered their tilt with Carthage on Tuesday with six consecutive wins but they'll face Willard with seven. Their defense stepped up to hand the Tigers a 3-0 shutout. Given Nixa's advantage in MaxPreps' Missouri soccer rankings (they are ranked tenth, while Carthage are ranked 75th), the win wasn't entirely unexpected.

Nixa has now won four of their last five games on the road. That gives them a 7-1 record this season. As for Willard, they are now 6-5-1, having gone 2-4-1 since their four-game winning streak ended.

Willard might still be hurting after the 4-1 loss they suffered at the hands of Nixa in their most recent meeting on September 23, 2025 last season. Can the Tigers avenge their defeat, or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.