CONTESTED — Central’s Malachy O’Neil pursues Weir’s Nick Cline on Thursday. - Aaron Petchal

WEIRTON — The Catholic Central boys’ soccer team rose to the occasion against Weir.

The Crusaders opened the season by not trailing for nearly 167 minutes before falling behind early against the Red Riders. Catholic Central responded with a goal of its own only to see Weir counter with another retake the lead.

Unfazed, the Blue and Gold tallied four straight goals to build a three-goal advantage before holding on for a 5-4 victory Thursday evening up at Jimmy Carey Stadium.

“They scored, and then we came back and scored,” Catholic Central (3-0) head coach Steve Kopcha said. “They scored again, and we had to play from behind. We responded, and we were able to score again. I am happy about that. Each time they scored, we were able to come back and score.”

The visitors from Jefferson County led by three goals with less than 11 minutes left to play in the match, however, the Red and Black refused to throw in the towel. Down by three, the Red Riders tallied two goals less than three minutes apart to pull within 5-4 with 8:04 still showing on the scoreboard clock.

Down by only a goal, the hosts had some opportunities to net the equalizer, however, the Crusaders stood tall and were able to withstand the Red Riders’ attacks.

“I am proud of their effort,” Weir (0-1) head coach Adam Welsh said. “This was our first game. We took a lot of things we have been doing for the past several months and put them out onto the field. We have some things to correct. In any game, there are good things, and there are bad things. We have to correct the bad things. I am proud of the boys. We were down by three, and we came back. I am super proud of their effort.”

Santi Descalzo delivered a hat trick to lead the way offensively for the victors, while Brendan Kuebler and Sean Inverso each contributed a goal and an assist.

Joe Vranish made three saves in goal for Catholic Central, while a Crusader defender cleared one ball from out in front of the goal preventing a Weir goal.

Caiden Lamp produced a hat trick to lead the way offensively for the Red Riders, Micah Hvizdack collected one and Rowan Stevens recorded an assist.

Caden Runkle did not make a save in goal for the boys in black.

“It was a great game,” Welsh said. “It was well played by both teams.”

Lamp opened the scoring with his first goal off an assist by Stevens to give Weir a 1-0 lead with 33:02 remaining to be played in the first half.

The lead did not last long, as the Crusaders countered with their first goal less than two minutes later. Kuebler recorded the first goal for Catholic Central to knot the score at 1 with 31:31 left before halftime.

Weir responded with its second goal less than 13 minutes later when Hvizdack scored to regain the lead for the Red Riders a 2-1 with 19:07 remaining in the first half.

Catholic Central came back and tied the score a little more than a minute later when Descalzo found the back of the net for the first time 18 minutes before halftime.

The standout senior struck again a few minutes before halftime to give the winners a 3-2 advantage with 3:24 left on the clock.

“We had a couple of breakdowns with the backline,” Welsh said. “We took some bad angles. Our goalie did not come out and cut off the angle. They were able to capitalize on those situations.”

Inverso scored one minute into the second half to give the boys in the white jerseys a 4-2 lead. Then, Descalzo capped off his hat trick with a goal on a penalty kick giving Catholic Central a 5-2 advantage with 33:34 left to play.

“We weren’t doing anything special,” Kopcha said. “We were focused. Weir has a lot of skill. They are a talented team. They were doing what we want to do and what we try do, and they were doing it better than we were. We were able to get some shots, and fortunately they found the back of the net.”

With its back to the wall, Weir responded with a pair of goals as the Red Riders refused to go away quietly into the warm night.

Lamp started the comeback with a goal on a penalty kick to pull his team to within 5-3 with 10:35 left in the match, and then Lamp, who is one of the team’s three captains, tallied his third goal – this one coming from the outside – to pull Weir to within 5-4 with 8:04 still to play.

“We just played simple soccer,” Welsh said about what his team was able to do to get back into the match. “Sometimes, that is very hard to do. We just made simple passes. We played simple soccer. We passed the ball. We had opportunities to break off after that. That’s soccer. We were able to get back into the game.

“I am proud of the kids. You are down, and you have to see what your mindset is. You have to see what you are thinking. We did not give up. We made simple passes. We moved the ball. We made some good passes. We moved”

The Red Riders continued to apply pressure after that, however, Weir was unable to get any closer as Catholic Central held on for third victory of the season.

“It was a good game,” Kopcha said. “It was back and forth. They were take the lead, and we were able to come back and tie it. It was a hard game. It was a well played game by both teams.”

Weir is scheduled to play Wheeling Central at 11 a.m. Saturday at home.

Catholic Central opened the season last Friday with a 2-1 victory against Harrison Central at home at the Tony Recinella Soccer Field before defeating Edison, 6-1, Tuesday at home before defeating Weir on the road.

The Crusaders will now play its first game against a team in their OVAC Class as Catholic Central is set to play Trinity Christian at 6 p.m. Tuesday at home.