Soccer Game Preview: Paris vs. Mount Vernon

A feisty cat fight will be fought as the Paris challenge the Mount Vernon at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Paris is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 4.7 goals per game this season.

Paris will bounce into Friday's match after beating Pleasant Grove, who they had gone 1-8 against in their nine prior meetings. Paris put the hurt on Pleasant Grove with a sharp 6-2 victory on Tuesday. Given the Wildcats' advantage in MaxPreps' Texas soccer rankings (they are ranked 209th, while the Hawks are ranked 499th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Paris hit Pleasant Grove with a four-pronged attack, as the team got scores from Ryan Macchia (2), Naomi Rios (2), Caroline Gillem, and Elizabeth Harper.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Mount Vernon). While the 2-2 score might suggest a draw, it was Mount Vernon who was credited with the win on Friday. Mount Vernon got it done in the shootout by posting two goals to Pittsburg's zero.

Paris is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 11-3 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they scored 62 goals over those nine games. Mount Vernon's first victory this season bumped their record up to 1-7.

Everything went Paris' way against Mount Vernon in their previous matchup on February 4th, as Paris made off with a 16-0 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Paris since the squad won't have the home-pitch advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.