Soccer Game Preview: Ranchview vs. Life Oak Cliff

The Ranchview Wolves are taking a road trip to face off against the Life Oak Cliff Lions at 7:45 p.m. on Friday. Ranchview knows how to get goals on the board -- the team has finished with four goals or more in their past six matchups -- so hopefully Life Oak Cliff likes a good challenge.

Ranchview's defense heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Saturday. They blew past North Hills Prep 8-0. Given Wolves' advantage in MaxPreps' Texas soccer rankings (they are ranked 408th, while North Hills Prep are ranked 829th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Ranchview's offense was hitting North Hills Prep from everywhere, as six different players booted in a goal. Zane Johnson led that balanced group of strikers and accounted for two goals all by himself.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Life Oak Cliff, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Saturday. They put the hurt on North Hills Prep with a sharp 6-1 victory on Tuesday. The game was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 4-0.

Ranchview's win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 8-5-1. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they scored 22 goals over those three matchups. As for Life Oak Cliff, their victory bumped their record up to 6-8-1.

Everything went Ranchview's way against Life Oak Cliff in their previous matchup back in January, as Ranchview made off with a 6-0 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Ranchview since the squad won't have the home-pitch advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.