For the first time this season, Hickory will have a chance to prove themselves in a conference matchup. They will look to defend their home pitch on Tuesday against the Oscar Smith Tigers at 7:00 p.m. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Hickory took a loss when they played away from home on April 3rd, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed last Thursday. Their defense stepped up to hand Maury a 7-0 shutout. The high-scoring performance was a welcome turnaround for Hickory's offense, which had struggled in the games prior.
Meanwhile, Oscar Smith had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 6.3 goals) and they went ahead and made it four last Friday. They came within a single goal of losing the streak, but they secured a 2-1 W against the Pilots. The score was all tied up 1-1 at the break, but Oscar Smith were the better team in the second half.
Oscar Smith's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 4-2-1. The home wins came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only given up one goal over those three matchups. As for Hickory, their victory bumped their record up to 2-3.
Everything went Hickory's way against Oscar Smith when the teams last played back in April of 2024, as Hickory made off with a 4-1 win. Will the Hawks repeat their success, or do the Tigers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
