Soccer Game Preview: St. James Academy vs. Washburn Rural

The St. James Academy Thunder will face off against the Washburn Rural Blues at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as St. James Academy comes in on 12 and Washburn Rural on six.

St. James Academy is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Kansas' top teams: Blue Valley Southwest, who was ranked 13th at the time (St. James Academy was ranked second). The Thunder's defense stepped up to hand the Timberwolves a 2-0 shutout on Tuesday. Give St. James Academy's defense some credit: that's the team's fourth straight shutout.

Alexa Aylward was the driving force of St. James Academy's attack as she scored both of St. James Academy's goals, bringing her season total up to 14 goals.

Meanwhile, Washburn Rural made easy work of Shawnee Heights on Monday and carried off a 4-0 win. The result was nothing new for Washburn Rural, who have now won six matchups by three goals or more so far this season.

St. James Academy's victory was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 12-0. The road wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they scored 22 goals over those five games. As for Washburn Rural, their victory bumped their record up to 8-1.