CHASING — Catholic Central’s Andrew MacDonald and Harrison Central’s Cooper Thompson pursue the ball during Friiday’s match. - Aaron Petchal

STEUBENVILLE — The first five and last five minutes of each half are key parts of a soccer match.

The Catholic Central boys’ soccer team led Harrison Central by a goal at halftime, however, the Crusaders came out strong to start the second half as the Blue and Gold tallied their second goal about a minute into the second half.

Trailing by two goals, the Huskies were forced to push forward to try and score a pair of goals to even the match. The Huskies were able to score one with less than 10 minutes left to play, however, they were unable to net the equalizer enabling Catholic Central to hold on for a 2-1 victory Friday evening at the Tony Recinella Soccer Field.

There is a big difference between being up 2-0 as compared to 1-0.

“Exactly, it is a big difference,” Catholic Central (1-0) head coach Steve Kopcha said. “That second goal proved to be the game winner. It was a great take.”

One mistake can be the difference between getting a good result and a loss.

“I think we fell asleep,” Harrison Central (0-1) head coach Derek Gramling said. “I was doing something, I had my back turned, so I didn’t really see it. That cannot happen. The ball was in the air for too long, and they were able to find a head. We have some things we have to work on.”

Brendan Kuebler tallied a goal and an assist to lead the way offensively for the Crusaders, while Santiago Descalzo delivered a goal and Jonah Lesnefsky finished with an assist.

Joe Vranish recorded three saves in goal for the hosts.

Triston Cole collected the lone goal for the visitors, while Noah Thaxton contributed the assist.

Brady McAfee made three saves in goal for Harrison.

Kuebler opened the scoring with about 13 minutes left to play in the first half. Lesnefsky sent a ball up top to Kuebler, who broke through the Huskies’ defense before kicking a shot into the back of the net to give the boys in a blue a 1-0 lead.

The Crusaders carried that lead into the second half, and they were able to quickly add to it after halftime as Kuebler sent the ball into the box where Descalzo was able to head the ball into the net to give Catholic Central a 2-0 lead.

After the goal, the Huskies pushed forward, and Cole was able to knock one into the back of the net to pull Harrison Central to within one goal. The visitors from Harrison County continued to apply pressure on the home team, however, time ran out before there were able to net the equalizer.

“We just couldn’t get that second goal,” Gramling said. “We continued to press and press. I thought we had the better of the chances, but we were not able to take advantage of them. They took advantage of two of theirs, and though we had more chances, we were only able to take advantage of one. It’s not always about how hard you play. If you don’t score goals, you are not going to win.”

Harrison Central outshot Catholic Central, 8-5, however, all five of the Crusaders’ shots were on goal, while the Huskies had four.

“We knew Harrison Central was going to play hard for the full 80 minutes,” Kopcha said. “They played hard. They were looking for that second goal, and they started to push more and more. They put a lot of pressure on us, and that was exactly what we expected. We expected them to press and play hard for the full 80 minutes of game time.”

Harrison’s offensive pressure resulted in Catholic Central having to take 10 goal kicks, while the Huskies took five. The Crusaders ended the game with a 9-3 advantage in corner kicks.

“It was a good competitive game,” Gramling said. “Both teams are evenly matched. It is not easy opening the season on the road, especially on a surface we don’t play on very often. I am proud of how hard we played.

“We just have to start out the first half with more energy. For some reason, we always seem to start a little slow.

“Give credit to Catholic Central. They played a good game. They have got some good players. No. 23 (Kuebler) did a good job in the middle of the field.”

Due to the heat, the match was stopped for a water break around the midway point of each half.

“It was a hot day,” Kopcha said. “We practiced at this time so we could get use to playing in the heat. The guys played with excitement, but the guys were certainly tired at the end. We rotated guys in and out, trying to keep guys with fresh legs in the game. Both teams competed really hard.”

The Crusaders and Huskies have opened the season against one another the last couple of years.

“Last year, it was a 1-0 game,” Gramling said. “We won. We beat them for the first time. We followed that up with another one-goal game. We were evenly matched. It is a fun night of soccer wherever we play them.”

The Crusaders were victorious two years ago at home.

“They have become our opener the past couple of years,” Kopcha said. “It is a good opener. It is a challenge for us. It is good competition.”

Catholic Central is scheduled to play Edison at 6 p.m. Tuesday at home. The Wildcats have not been able to field a team the last few seasons.

Harrison Central is slated to play Beaver Local at 7 p.m. Tuesday on the road.