Soccer Game Preview: St. Pauls vs. Northside - Jacksonville

The St. Pauls Bulldogs will face off against the Northside - Jacksonville Monarchs at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Northside - Jacksonville will be up against a hot St. Pauls squad: the team just extended their winning streak to three. The Bulldogs' defense stepped up to hand E.E. Smith a 9-0 shutout on Thursday. St. Pauls' defense has been rock solid lately; the team hasn't given up a goal in their last three matches.

Meanwhile, it's playoff time, and Northside - Jacksonville had no trouble coming through when it counted. Everything went their way against South Granville on Tuesday as they made off with a 6-0 victory. The final result isn't all that surprising considering Northside - Jacksonville's considerable advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina soccer rankings (they are ranked 141st, while South Granville are ranked 435th).

Northside - Jacksonville's offense was hitting South Granville from everywhere, as five different players booted in a goal. Adrien Calzada led that balanced group of strikers and accounted for two goals all by himself.

St. Pauls' win bumped their record up to 16-4-2. As for Northside - Jacksonville, their victory bumped their record up to 14-5-2.