Soccer Game Preview: Los Lunas vs. Rio Grande

Los Lunas hasn't had much luck against Rio Grande recently, but that could start to change on Saturday. The Tigers are taking a road trip to square off against the Ravens at 12:00 p.m. Los Lunas has given up an average of 5.6 goals per game this season, but Saturday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.

It was a proper cat-fight when Los Lunas took on Atrisco Heritage Academy on Saturday. The Tigers came up short against the Jaguars, falling 10-0. While losing is never fun, Los Lunas can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' New Mexico soccer rankings (they are ranked 66th, while Atrisco Heritage Academy are ranked eighth).

Meanwhile, Rio Grande had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 5.5 goals) and they went ahead and made it five on Thursday. They came within a single goal of losing the streak, but they secured a 2-1 W against the Eagles. Rio Grande's winning goal came courtesy of Yahir Mendoza.

Rio Grande was without their leading scorer, Kevin Trejo, in Thursday's contest. With Trejo sitting this one out, Cristiano Flores got some extra time on the pitch (80 vs. his season average of 55). Flores made the most of the opportunity, putting up one assist A few more games like that and he might be seeing even more time going forward.

Los Lunas' loss dropped their record down to 1-13. As for Rio Grande, their victory bumped their record up to 12-2-2.

Los Lunas suffered a grim 11-1 defeat to Rio Grande when the teams last played back in September. Can the Tigers avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.