Aperfine’s two goals, hot start lift Weir High girls over Catholic Central
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WEIRTON -- A fast start was just what the Weir High girls soccer team needed against Catholic Central.
The Red Riders recorded a pair of goals less than nine minutes into the match, en route to a 4-0 victory against the Crusaders Tuesday night at Jimmy Carey Stadium.
"We scored a couple early goals, and that helped with our confidence," Weir (4-4-2) head coach Jeremy Angelo said. "We moved the ball. We scored a couple of early goals when he had the wind at our backs. We scored a couple of goals, and we were able to put pressure on them, and we were able to control the game."
Bella Aperfine tallied both early goals for Weir to go along with an assist. The senior standout's first goal came 6:49 in, and she followed that up with a nother on a penalty kick with 31:29 left to play in the first half.
"That was not the start we wanted," Catholic Central (5-5-2) head coach Jonathan Hoover said. "Weir is a talented team. They are still playing with a lot of emotion. They scored a couple early goals. They scored one on a penalty kick, and that put us behind the 8-ball."
Ava Taylor and Olivia Baker also collected a goal for the Red Riders, while Jules Glodowski delivered an assist. Alexis Adams made three saves.
Bre DeChristopher recorded 12 saves in goal for the Crusaders.
"They beat Madonna, and then Madonna beat them," Angelo said. "We knew they were going to come in here and gives us a game. They are better than they were last year. They moved the ball. They are aggressive. They are physical like we are. They came to play. They played hard.
"Their goalie did a great job. She made a bunch of saves. The saves she made weren't lucky; she made them because she was in the right position. She did a great job."
Taylor contributed her goal with 21:55 remaining before halftime to make it 3-0. Baker capped the scoring with her goal in the second half.
"We told the girls to play a strong second half," Hoover said. "We told them to play with pride and to show they belonged on the field, and I think they showed that. They played the way we are capable of playing."
DeChristopher and the Catholic Central defense was under attack from the opening whistle, as the Red Riders out-shot the Crusaders, 21-3.
"Weir has some strong midfielders," Hoover said. "They have talented strikers. They were able to control the ball. They knew what they had to do. They executed their game plan."
With the win, Weir was able to get to .500 on the season. The Red Riders are 3-1-1 in their last five games, starting with their win in the annual city championship game Sept. 19.
"It is always nice to get a win," Angelo said. "Last week we had one win, one loss and one tie. The girls did a good job with everything that happened. They came to play today. We scored a couple early goals, and we were able to put a lot of pressure on them. We passed the ball. We moved. It was a good effort by us tonight."
The Red Riders once again started a man down for a little more than three minutes in memory of Madison Crowe before Kiana Luevano came on to the pitch with a little less than 37 minutes remaining to be played in the first half.
Luevano has been the girl coming into the match after three minutes have passed.
"It will most likely continue to be Kiana who comes in," Angelo said. "The other girls played with Flo. Kiana also played with Flo, but that was years ago when she was younger. We didn't want to have one of the other girls do it. It is tough on them. The first time Kiana did she was crying. We were all crying down at St. Clairsville."
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Catholic Central: Travels to Carrollton for a 10 a.m. match on Saturday.
"I think the break is good for us," Hoover said. "We have sectionals coming up. We want to make a good run in the sectionals. That is why we set up our schedule at the end of the year the way we did."
Weir High: Travels to Indian Creek at 6 p.m. Thursday.
"They have a lot of speed," Angelo said about the Redskins. "They had a lot of speed last year, and we beat them, 2-0. They are a good team. It is going to be a good game. I'm not expecting to go over and blow them out, and I'm not expecting them to blow us out. It is going to be a good game."