Soccer Game Preview: Ida Baker vs. Charlotte

The Ida Baker Bulldogs will square off against the Charlotte Fightin' Tarpons at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Ida Baker is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 2.6 goals per game this season.

Last Thursday, Ida Baker was able to grind out a solid victory over Canterbury, taking the game 3-1. Things got a bit chippy out on the turf as both teams were handed red cards: the Bulldogs' Santiago Gonzalez and the Cougars' Piero Nieto.

Reed Verblaauw and Gonzalez scored all three of Ida Baker's goals, bringing their combined season tally to 24 goals.

Meanwhile, Charlotte hasn't lost a match since January 3rd, a trend which continued in their latest game last Wednesday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Port Charlotte, sneaking past 2-1. Given the Fightin' Tarpons' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida soccer rankings (they are ranked 90th, while the Pirates are ranked 359th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Charlotte is also on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 18-3-2 record this season. As for Ida Baker, their win bumped their record up to 9-6-3.

Ida Baker beat Charlotte by a goal when the teams last played back in November of 2024, winning 2-1. The rematch might be a little tougher for Ida Baker since the team won't have the home-pitch advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.