Soccer Game Preview: Hanks vs. Coronado

The Hanks Knights will take on the Coronado Thunderbirds at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Hanks' offense has struggled lately (the team hasn't scored more than a single goal for three straight games), a trend the team is no doubt ready to end.

Saturday just wasn't the day for Hanks' offense. They came up short against Socorro on Saturday, falling 3-0. While losing is never fun, the Knights can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Texas soccer rankings (they are ranked 357th, while the Bulldogs are ranked 16th).

Hanks was without their leading scorer, Sebastian Morales Manzur, in Saturday's game. With Morales Manzur sidelined, Hanks had to make some big changes to the lineup. Diego Garcia played for 75 minutes having averaged 50.7 this season and Gael De La Rosa got 80 vs. an average of 54.4.

While Coronado didn't have the best season last year (they finished 6-15-2), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past Jefferson 2-1. That's two games straight that the Thunderbirds have won by just one goal.

Coronado's victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 7-3. Those victories came thanks to their defensive effort, having only given up one goal over those four contests. As for Hanks, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-6.

Hanks came up short against Coronado when the teams last played back in January of 2023, falling 2-0. Will Hanks have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more soccer content.