Soccer Game Preview: Woodcreek vs. Bella Vista

The Woodcreek Timberwolves will head out to take on the Bella Vista Broncos at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Woodcreek will be looking to extend their current eight-game winning streak.

Bella Vista better have a healthy lead at halftime, because if last week is any indication, that's when Woodcreek really get things going. Everything went Woodcreek's way against Inderkum on Tuesday as Woodcreek made off with a 3-0 victory. Given the Timberwolves' advantage in MaxPreps' California soccer rankings (they are ranked 31st, while the Tigers are ranked 135th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, Bella Vista has been on a difficult stretch since their win on January 4. They and Christian Brothers finished up on equal footing with a 1-1 draw on Tuesday. The outcome might've been different if Melver Rangel Gutierrez hadn't been hit with a yellow card, which no doubt limited his ability to make aggressive plays down the stretch.

Woodcreek's win was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 11-2-3. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they scored 20 goals over those six games. Bella Vista's draw gives them a new season record of 4-4-5.

Woodcreek beat Bella Vista 4-2 in their previous matchup back in January. The rematch might be a little tougher for Woodcreek since the squad won't have the home-pitch advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.