Two of central Minnesota's top programs will meet as the fight for the Central Lakes Conference title continues to tighten.
Willmar (6-1-1, 3-1-1) sits slightly behind St. Cloud Tech in the conference race. Both are still chasing first-place Alexandria.
The No. 9-2A Cardinals started out a perfect 5-0 but had it tough this past week, losing to Brainerd and notching a tie with Alexandria. However, Willmar did rebound with a 1-0 win against Watertown-Mayer this past Saturday.
One trend that sticks out when it comes to Willmar is offensive production. Prior to this past week, the Cardinals had average 5.6 goals in three games, but were held to just one goal per game in its three contests last week.
One player to watch in that regard is Miguel Altamirano Turuno. He was a part of the team's early success, scoring the lone goal in Willmar's 1-0 win against St. Cloud Apollo on Aug. 30.
St. Cloud Tech (5-2-1, 3-0-1) sits ahead of the Cardinals because of its unbeaten conference record. Unlike Willmar, the Tigers played to a draw with Alexandria and suffered losses only to non-conference foes Centennial and St. Paul Central.
The Tigers will try to slow the Willmar attack with key players such as Lukas O'Donnell, a senior defender.