WEIRTON — Not all rivalries are heated.

The Weir girls’ soccer team continued its friendly rivalry with Catholic Central Thursday night looking to get above .500 on the season, while the Crusaders were looking to prepare themselves for the upcoming sectional tournament.

The match was pretty even from start to finish, however, Madelynn Cramer recorded a goal in each half to lead the Red Riders to a 2-1 victory up at Jimmy Carey Stadium.

“It was back-and-forth,” Weir (8-7-3) head coach Jeremy Angelo said. “They definitely had more numbers than we did. We were able to control things. We moved the ball around. We put pressure on them, and that made a difference. Our defense played pretty well.

“Offensively, we were able to create a couple of opportunities. You are not always going to win games, 6-0 or 7-0. You are going to have to win games, 1-0, 2-1 or 3-2. It was a battle. We had a battle last night, and that carried over into tonight. The girls were tired, but they played very hard. They played very well.”

With the win, the Red Riders went above .500 for the first time this season. Weir started the season off at 1-3, however, the Red Riders have won four straight matches after tying Big Red Oct. 2.

“It has been a longtime, or if we have been above it at all this season,” Angelo said. “We have grinded away. It’s a good time to be above .500. We have regional seeding coming up. That will happen next week.”

The Crusaders had a golden opportunity to take an early lead in the match, however, Weir goalie Kylie Dean, who had been out with an injury, made a big save in her return to the pitch less than two minutes the match to keep it scoreless.

“It was a good game from start to finish by both teams,” Catholic Central (8-6-3) head coach Jonathan Hoover said. “We had an opportunity to score right at the start of the game, but their goalie was able to make the save.”

Brynn Artman and KK Engle tallied the assists for the Red Riders.

Dean delivered eight saves in the win.

“I know Jeremy pretty well,” Hoover said. “It is fun to coach against people you know. You want to try and beat them.”

Zélie Baillargeon was credited for the goal for Catholic Central. The ball went off a Weir defender for an own goal, however, Baillargeon was the last player to touch it for the Crusaders.

Adalee Long ended up with 10 saves in goal for Catholic Central.

“Jonathan and I played together in a coed league in the summer,” Angelo said. “He’s a good guy. I remember when he played. He is a good guy. He has done a lot good for soccer. He worth with the JKYSC. He is the AD at Catholic Central.”

The Red Riders fell behind early, however, they were able to dig themselves out of their early hole. Baillargeon tallied the first goal to give the Crusaders a 1-0 lead less than 10 minutes into the match.

“They have two girls up top who can hold the ball,” Angelo said. “They can hold the ball, and they can turn with it. They have midfielders who can win the ball. They can go inside and outside. They can get the ball across, and they are able to run on it. They were able to create a couple of opportunities. They had one early in the game, and then they hit the post late in the first half. They were able to create some chances, but our defense played well. We were able to limit their chances, and our goalie made two really good saves. We were able to keep the lead.”

Cramer contributed her first goal of the night almost midway through the first half as he shot found the back of the net with 20:59 remaining to be played before halftime. Artman assisted on the goal.

“Weir has a solid team,” Hoover said. “They are battling some injuries. We just weren’t able to find the back of the net in the second half when we needed to.”

The visitors were unable to score in the second half, however, the hosts were able to as Cramer scored off an assist by Engle to give her team a 2-1 advantage with 30:53 left to play.

“We definitely had opportunities,” Hoover said. “We just weren’t able to get them into the back of the net. We weren’t able to finish.”

The match was Catholic Central’s four since Saturday. The Crusaders won the first two, but have lost their last two.

“You want to play tougher team close to tournament time,” Hoover said. “You want to be well prepared going into the postseason. From this point on, if you lose, your season is over.”

The match was the final regular season one for the girls from Jefferson County. Catholic Central – the No. 3 seed – is scheduled to open postseason play against No. 6 seed Sandy Valley at 4:30 p.m. Monday at home at the Tony Recinella Soccer Field in an Ohio Division V Eastern District Sectional Co-Final.

As of now, the match was also the last one of the regular season for the Red Riders, however, Weir is looking to pick up a game before the start of postseason play on Oct. 22.