The Sierra Timberwolves will venture away from home to face off against the Manteca Buffaloes at 5:45 p.m. on Friday. Sierra knows how to get goals on the board -- the team has finished with four goals or more in their past four contests -- so hopefully Manteca likes a good challenge.
Sierra is headed in fresh off scoring the most goals they have all season. They were the clear victor by a 7-0 margin over Central Catholic on Wednesday. Given the Timberwolves' advantage in MaxPreps' California soccer rankings (they are ranked 135th, while the Raiders are ranked 653rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Sierra's offense was hitting Central Catholic from everywhere, as six different players booted in a goal. Hailey Cruz led that balanced group of strikers and accounted for two goals all by herself.
Meanwhile, Manteca entered their game against Oakdale on Wednesday without any home losses, but there's a first time for everything. Manteca fell just short of Oakdale by a score of 1-0. The matchup was a 0-0 toss-up at halftime, but the Buffaloes couldn't quite close it out.
Sierra's victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 15-3-2. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they scored 19 goals over those four contests. As for Manteca, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-9-2.
Sierra came out on top in a nail-biter against Manteca in their previous matchup back in December of 2024, sneaking past 2-1. The rematch might be a little tougher for Sierra since the squad won't have the home-pitch advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
