Two teams that know each other very well share the pitch on Thursday in Wellman for the first round of the Class 1A boys substate soccer tournament when the Mid-Prairie Golden Hawks host the Hillcrest Academy Ravens. The two schools share a girls soccer program and their boys play together on the pitch as well through middle school.

Mid-Prairie comes into the match 10-3 on the year. They started the season 9-0, rising to No. 1 in the Class 1A poll before dropping three of their last four matches including a 1-0 loss at No. 13 West Liberty on Tuesday. For the year, the Hawks have outscored their opponents 68-13 and posted eight defensive shut outs. Individually they are led by Jack Pennington’s 14 goals. Owen Trimpe has a team best 10 assists, and in goal Justice Jones has served 800 minutes with 51 saves and 13 goals allowed, working out to an 80% save percentage.

Hillcrest Academy is 6-8 this year. They have dropped back-to-back matches coming into Thursday including an 8-0 loss to No. 3 Burlington Notre Dame in the Superconference Tournament semifinals Saturday and a 1-0 loss to Class 2A Washington Monday. For the season, the Ravens have scored and surrendered 32 goals each. Diego Ramos leads the Hillcrest offense with 10 goals, Collin Miller holds the team lead with four assists. In goal, Aiden Krabill has worked more than 1,100 minutes this year, making 98 saves, and allowing 30 goals for a 77% save percentage. These two schools have met four times in the last decade with the Ravens winning three of the four including a 3-1 victory in their last encounter in the 2013 postseason. The winner of this game advances to take on the winner of No. 13 West Liberty and Prairie City Monroe in the substate semifinals next week. The Ravens and Golden Hawks meet tonight at 6:30 in Wellman.