The Ponderosa Bruins will face off against the Rio Americano Raiders at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams beat their previous opponents by a single goal, so this matchup might be just as contested.
If Rio Americano heads into halftime all tied up, they better play a good second half: that's when Ponderosa took over last week. Ponderosa narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past Christian Brothers 2-1. Given the Bruins' advantage in MaxPreps' California soccer rankings (they are ranked 121st, while the Falcons are ranked 252nd), the result on Tuesday wasn't entirely unexpected.
Colton Wells and Theodore Barnum scored both of Ponderosa's goals, bringing their combined season tally to four goals.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Rio Americano, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Saturday. Their defense stepped up to hand River City a 1-0 shutout on Monday. Isaac Carillo had to tread lightly for part of the match after he was hit with a yellow card, but that was the only trouble Rio Americano got from the refs.
Ponderosa pushed their record up to 5-1 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home. The wins came thanks to their defensive effort, having only given up one goal over those four games. As for Rio Americano, their victory (their first of the season) made their record 1-4-2.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
