The Lady Lancers will play twice on the road within 22 hours this weekend. (Photo courtesy of the Lady Laders)

The Rochester Lady Lancers face a difficult holiday weekend.

They will play back-to-back games within 22 hours Friday and Saturday.

Rochester will visit the Long Island Rough Riders in a United Women’s Soccer match at St. Anthony’s High School in South Huntington, N.Y. at 5 p.m. Friday before taking on the Lancaster Inferno in Millersville, Pa. Saturday at 3 p.m.

The Rough Riders (4-1-1) will host the Lady Lancers (0-7-1) in the rubber match of their season series. On paper, Rochester may seem to be a good opponent for Long Island, especially in its mission to bounce back after suffering their first loss of 2017.

But in the first meeting between the two teams in Week 4, the Lady Lancers gave their hosts a run for their money. Rochester could not take advantage of its first-half scoring chances, while Long Island held the run of play in the second half in a 2-0 road win. Morgan Santoro came off the bench and netted the game-winner in the 60th minute while in the 79th minute, Kayla Saager tallied the insurance goal.

Rochester will face a Lancaster Inferno (3-4) side that – like its opponents on Friday – will also be looking to bounce back after a loss in Week 7.

It has been an up-and-down season for Lancaster, as the Inferno has not strung together two wins. On the other hand, Lancaster has not dropped two games in a row. So, it all depends on how the team chooses to finish its season. The Inferno is 2-1 at Pucillo Field and its next two games are at home before hitting the road for its season finale. On Saturday the hosts have a chance to post a winning record at home.

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.