Soccer Game Preview: Hickory vs. Newton-Conover

The Hickory Tornadoes will head out on the road to take on the Newton-Conover Red Devils at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Hickory is coming into the matchup hot, having won their last three games.

Hickory's defense heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Monday. Everything went their way against Bunker Hill as they made off with a 9-0 victory. Hickory might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 16 contests by three goals or more this season.

Meanwhile, Newton-Conover came up short against East Lincoln on Monday, falling 4-1. While losing is never fun, Newton-Conover can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina soccer rankings (they are ranked 248th, while East Lincoln are ranked 35th).

Newton-Conover has also been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four matchups. That's put a noticeable dent in their 11-12 record this season. As for Hickory, their win bumped their record up to 17-1-1.

Everything went Hickory's way against Newton-Conover when the teams last played back in April, as Hickory made off with a 6-1 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Tornadoes since the squad won't have the home-pitch advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.