ON THE PITCH — Edison’s Isaiah Filburn and Catholic Central’s Andrew MacDonald pursue the ball during Tuesday’s match. - Aaron Petchal

STEUBENVILLE — A quick strike by the Catholic Central boys’ soccer team set the tone against Edison.

The Crusaders scored about a minute into the match against the Wildcats, and the Blue and Gold never looked back en route to a 6-1 victory in Edison’s return to the pitch Tuesday evening at the Tony Recinella Soccer Field.

“It is definitely easier to play with the lead,” Catholic Central (2-0) head coach Steve Kopcha said. “That is something we stress to the boys. We want to get the lead and then play with the lead.

“There is a few minutes at the start of the game and at the start of a half and at the end of the half, that are important. You want to get off to a good start. You want to score a quick goal early in the half. You want to start the half strong, and you want to end it strong.”

The victors also ended the first half strongly as the boys in blue netted a goal with less than 30 seconds left to play before halftime.

Catholic Central’s early goal forced Edison to play from behind almost from the very beginning.

“It was a quick play,” first-year Edison (0-1) head coach Justin Wise said. “We had a miscommunication. We did not mark up on a man. We didn’t mark a man, and he was able to get open.”

Santi Descalzo delivered two goals for the hosts, Aiden Hough added a goal and an assist and Brendan Kuebler, Javier Descalzo and Isaac Stoutz all tallied a goal.

The Crusaders used two goalies in the match. Joe Vranish started in net, and he made one save before being replaced during the second half by Micah Hoover. Hoover also recorded one save.

Isaiah Filburn netted the lone goal for the Wildcats off an assist by Wyatt Bernhart.

Brady Haught tallied 10 saves in goal for the visitors.

Kuebler scored the first goal giving the Crusaders an early 1-0 lead. Javier Descalzo scored from lone range on a shot into the upper corner to extend Catholic Central’s advantage to 2-0 before Santi Descalzo capped the scoring in the half with a late goal with under 30 seconds remaining to be played before halftime.

“You want to play those periods we talked about with intensity, and you want to be focused,” Kopcha said. “I told Santi that was a big goal. We want to try and score in those situations. That goal gave us some cushion and some space at the end of the half.”

The boys in white had an opportunity to score the first goal of the second half, and it appeared as though they had taken advantage of the chance as the ball found its way into the back of the net. Unfortunately for Edison, the shot and the goal came after the whistle had blown as Catholic Central was called for a handball giving the Wildcats a free kick.

“We played from behind,” Wise said. “We were down 3-0. Unfortunately, we had a goal taken away on a handball. We scored, but they called a handball. We had the advantage, but they called the handball. We should have scored. If it was 3-1, things would have been a little different with the momentum and our attitude. After that, we started to get behind, and the game changed.”

The Crusaders scored the first three goals of the second half to go up 6-0 before the Wildcats tallied their goal late in the match.

“Absolutely,” Wise said asked if he knew what to expect from Catholic Central. “I created the Junior Crusaders Soccer Club. I was the coach the last two years. I coached a lot of those guys. I know how the play. They have got some good players. They’re talented. Steve does a great job with them.”

The match was a renewal of the rivalry between the Crusaders and the Wildcats.

“First of all, it is good that Edison has got their program going again,” Kopcha said. “It is good to see them back. They are going to get the program going again. We knew they were going to have some inexperience as the start the program – reestablish the program. They played hard the whole time. We expected that. Once they get some experience, they will be fine.”

Edison had some scrimmages, but the game against Catholic Central was the team’s first in a few seasons.

“Absolutely, it is great to be back,” Wise said. “It has been four years since we last had a team. We’re young. We have a small team. We have some great numbers coming up, so I am excited to see what they have to offer.”

The Crusaders outshot the Wildcats. Catholic Central took 16 shots on goal, while Edison ended up with three.

Catholic Central’s constant offensive pressure resulted in Edison having to take 26 goal kicks, while the Crusaders took four. The winners had a 4-1 advantage in corner kicks.

Catholic Central is scheduled to play Weir at 6 p.m. Thursday on the road up at Jimmy Carey Stadium.

Edison is slated to play Jefferson County Christian at 1 p.m. Saturday at home out at the Edison Unified Sports Complex.

“We have dealt with some injuries early on,” Wise said. “We were without one of our players today. We lost our staring forward. We hope he is able to come back soon. Things are going pretty well considering the situation we are in. I am proud of the boys. They are doing a good job. We were very competitive in our first scrimmage against Harrison Central. We lost, 2-1.”