Soccer Game Preview: El Monte vs. South El Monte

The El Monte Lions will square off against the South El Monte Eagles at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

South El Monte better have a healthy lead at halftime, because if last week is any indication, that's when El Monte really get things going. El Monte's defense stepped up to hand Rosemead a 3-0 shutout on Tuesday. Given the Lions' advantage in MaxPreps' California soccer rankings (they are ranked 375th, while the Panthers are ranked 792nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

El Monte hit Rosemead with a three-pronged attack, as the team got scores from Anthony Tzul, Danny Cardona, and Javier Rodriguez.

Meanwhile, South El Monte entered their tilt with Arroyo on Monday with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. They were the clear victor by a 5-0 margin over the Knights. The score was all tied up 0-0 at the break, but the Eagles were the better team in the second half.

South El Monte has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won four of their last five games, which provided a nice bump to their 11-4-3 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they scored 19 goals over those five matchups. As for El Monte, they now have a winning record of 4-3-1.

El Monte took their win against South El Monte when the teams last played back in December of 2024 by a conclusive 3-0. Will El Monte repeat their success, or does South El Monte have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.