Soccer Game Preview: Dale County vs. Ariton

The Dale County Warriors are taking a road trip to challenge the Ariton Purple Cats at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Dale County has given up an average of 2.8 goals per game this season, so hopefully the team got some defensive drills in this week.

Dale County came into their game on Thursday off a hard-fought close win, but unfortunately suffered a serious change of fortune. They came up short against New Brockton, falling 5-1. The defeat continues a trend for the Warriors in their meetings with the Gamecocks: they've now lost three in a row.

Meanwhile, Ariton hadn't done well against Long recently (they were 0-5 in their previous five matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Thursday. Ariton sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 2-1 win over Long.

Ariton has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games. That's provided a massive bump to their 4-8 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they scored 15 goals over those four matchups. Dale County's loss dropped their record down to 4-4-1.

Everything went Dale County's way against Ariton in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, as Dale County made off with a 3-0 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Dale County since the team won't have the home-pitch advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.