Soccer Game Preview: Escondido vs. Mt. Carmel

The Escondido Cougars will face off against the Mt. Carmel Sundevils at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Escondido is coming into the contest hot, having won their last seven games.

On Tuesday, Escondido was able to grind out a solid win over Ramona, taking the game 3-1. Given the Cougars' advantage in MaxPreps' California soccer rankings (they are ranked 70th, while the Bulldogs are ranked 633rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Escondido hit Ramona with a three-pronged attack, as the team got scores from David Ortiz, Gilbert Pina, and Enrique Rodriguez.

Meanwhile, for the first time since back in December of 2024, Mt. Carmel was forced to settle for a draw on Tuesday. They and Fallbrook finished up their match with a 0-0 draw.

Escondido has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine games, which provided a nice bump to their 11-1-1 record this season. With that draw, Mt. Carmel's record moves to 1-7-3.

Escondido beat Mt. Carmel by a goal in their previous meeting back in January of 2024, winning 1-0. Will Escondido repeat their success, or does Mt. Carmel have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.