Trending
STEUBENVILLE – The Catholic Central girls’ soccer team came out ready to play against Jefferson County rival Edison, and the Crusaders were able to bring the game against the Wildcats to an early conclusion.
Catholic Central – the No. 2 seed – netted a pair of goals early in the second half bringing the game to an end via mercy rule as the Crusaders topped the seventh-seeded Wildcats, 8-0, in an Ohio Division V Eastern District Quarterfinal Wednesday evening at the Tony Recinella Soccer Field.
“It was a very-good day,” Catholic Central (11-5-1) head coach Jonathan Hoover said. “We played with intensity. We got off to the start you want to see in a playoff game.”
With the win, Catholic Central will play No. 5 seed Ridgewood at 4:30 p.m. Monday at home in the district semifinals. Ridgewood advanced to the semifinals by defeating No. 3 seed Fairless, 2-0, Wednesday night on the road.
“It should be interesting,” Hoover said about the game between the Falcons and the Generals. “We are going to have to wait and see what happens. This the second time they have played this season. They tied the first time they played. We are going to have to be prepared for either team.”
The Crusaders shut out the Generals, 5-0, Sept. 10 at home.
With the loss, the Wildcats finish the season with a record of 4-14. Under the guidance of first-year head coach Sarah Smith, Edison defeated Magnolia twice this season as well defeating Tyler Consolidated and Union Local.
“Edison has definitely improved,” Hoover said. “They are a young team. They are going to get stronger each year as those girls gain experience.”
Offensively for the girls in blue, Lily Krivoniak tallied three goals and an assist, Aurelia Hoover and Gigi Rook each collected two goals and an assist and Delaney Dankert delivered one goal.
The hosts used two goalies in the game. Addie Long played in the goal in the first half, and Mia Doyle played in the net in the second half. Neither goalie had to make a save.
“You like to see different girls score,” Hoover said. “It makes it harder for teams to defend you when you don’t have just one girl scoring goals. I am happy with all of the contributions from everyone.”
The Blue-and-Gold tallied six goals in the first half.
“We wanted to control the pace of the game,” Hoover said. “We want to possess the ball, and we were able to do that easily. We wanted to keep possession. That was the big thing.”
The game was the final one for Edison’s four seniors – Hallie Westbrook, Lilly Montgomery, Alison Kireta and Lilly Frey. Montgomery and Kireta were the Silver-and-Black’s co-captains.
The Crusaders have now won their last eight games. Catholic Central is one win away from tying the best record the team has had under Hoover. The Crusaders won 12 games back in 2021.