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RICHMOND -- The Catholic Central girls soccer team controlled the ball and the match against rival Edison.
The Crusaders took 23 shots on goal as the Crusaders scored multiple goals in each half en route to a 7-0 victory via mercy rule against the Wildcats on a cool Monday evening out at the Edison Unified Sports Complex.
"We were sluggish in the first half, but me made good improvement in the second half," Catholic Central (1-0) head coach Jonathan Hoover said.
The victors also hit the post twice and the crossbar once.
The hosts kept the visitors off the scoreboard for more than 13 minutes before giving up a goal.
"Fourteen minutes is better than what we normally do," first-year Edison (0-2) head coach Danah Beaver said.
Catholic Central tallied four goals in the first half before collecting three more in the second.
Sofia Walsh, Maisy Symington and Delaney Dankert all netted two goals, while Julia Kuebler recorded one for the Crusaders.
Therese Baillargeon, Jojo Loot, Maria Kissinger and Gigi Rook all recorded an assist for Catholic Central.
Aurie Hoover made one save in goal for the Crusaders.
"Catholic Central has good footwork," Beaver said. "They are always a good team. They're a hard team to beat. We love working with Jonathan. They had good possession. They moved the ball well."
Avah Reed recorded 16 saves for the girls in black.
"Edison has good numbers," Hoover said. "Their numbers are up. That's what you want to see in the valley. They make an effort. They try. They have some bright flashes. They are going to get better."
An offensive flurry led to the first goal of the match. Catholic Central had a shot hit the crossbar with 27:27 left to play in the first before having a shot hit the post just six seconds later. Finally, Walsh found the back of the net for the first time to give the Crusaders a 1-0 lead with 26:41 remaining to be played in the half.
Symington netted her first goal to give the winners a 2-0 advantage with 20:08 left to play before halftime. Walsh scored her team's third goal of the half, and Symington capped the scoring with her second goal with 4:32 still showing on the scoreboard clock.
"It is still early, but I am happy with where we are at," Hoover said. "We played some tough teams in the preseason. This was a good game for us. We have got some tough teams coming up. We want to keep making strides and improvements."
Dankert contributed her first goal of the match to extend Catholic Central's advantage to 5-0 with 34:29 remaining to be played, and her second goal made it 6-0 and brought the running clock into play.
Kuebler capped the scoring in the match.
Edison showed signs of improvement coming off of Friday night's loss down at St. Clairsville.
"I always see improvement," Beaver said. "I see it even if it is just one thing, and we are working on a couple of things. The girls have come a long way since last year."
Catholic Central is scheduled to play John Marshall at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at home at the Tony Recinella Soccer Field.
Edison is slated to play Wheeling Central at 6 p.m. Thursday at home.