Soccer Game Preview: Ardrey Kell vs. Ballantyne Ridge

The Ardrey Kell Knights will head out on the road to face off against the Ballantyne Ridge Wolves at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Neither team made it on the board the last time they hit the pitch, so they've probably got a bit of extra motivation.

Ardrey Kell is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of North Carolina's top teams: Hough, who was ranked 15th at the time (Ardrey Kell was ranked 17th). Neither the Knights nor the Huskies could gain the upper hand on Wednesday so the two teams had to settle for a 1-1 draw. Ardrey Kell's loss signaled the end of their three-game winning streak.

Their goal came courtesy of Rhyan Winnek, who's now up to seven this season.

Meanwhile, Ballantyne Ridge was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their third straight defeat. They came up short against Myers Park, falling 7-0.

Ardrey Kell's draw makes their record 10-3-4 this season. As for Ballantyne Ridge, their loss dropped their record down to 7-9.

Everything went Ardrey Kell's way against Ballantyne Ridge in their previous meeting back in March, as Ardrey Kell made off with a 9-0 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Knights since the squad won't have the home-pitch advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.