Soccer Game Preview: Santa Maria vs. Pioneer Valley

The Santa Maria Saints will take on the Pioneer Valley Panthers at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Santa Maria's defense heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. They blew past Paso Robles 5-0. Alexander Martinez was a massive factor in the win as he booted in four goals all by himself.

Meanwhile, Pioneer Valley waltzed into their match on Tuesday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past the Tigers 1-0. The Panthers' defense has been rock solid lately; the team hasn't given up a goal in their last three games.

Pioneer Valley has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight contests, which provided a nice bump to their 8-2-1 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they scored 31 goals over those eight matches. As for Santa Maria, their victory bumped their record up to 5-2-2.

Everything went Santa Maria's way against Pioneer Valley in their previous matchup back in January of 2024, as Santa Maria made off with a 5-0 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Santa Maria since the team won't have the home-pitch advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.