STEUBENVILLE — The Weir boys soccer team was up the challenge against Steubenville Catholic on Tuesday.

After falling behind by two goals to the Crusaders, the Red Riders recorded three unanswered in the first half and rallied for a 3-2 victory on the Tony Recinella Soccer Field at the Michael Carapellotti Crusader Sports Complex.

“We were down 2-0, and we always have trouble on grass for the first time every year,” Weir (2-0) coach Matt Kopp said. “It is a new season. We had only played one game before this. We have got a young team. We are trying to build a consistent mentality with this new team. We want to play with intensity. We want to play 80 minutes of soccer the same way.”

The Crusaders controlled the early part of the match, but they were unable to keep the momentum on their side.

“They say the most dangerous lead is a two-goal lead,” Steubenvill Catholic (2-2-1) coach Steve Kopcha said. “We got off to the start we had hoped for. Then, I think we got a little too comfortable.

“Weir is a tough team. You have to give them credit. They were not bothered. They kept their composure. They worked their way back into the game.”

Jacob Morgan netted two goals for Weir, while Dante Bruno delivered the game-winning goal and an assist. Antonio Pittman contributed an assist on the game-winning goal. Jonathan Howard made five saves in goal.

Joseph Rohde delivered both goals for the Crusaders. Both goals were unassisted. Leon Zaleski made five saves in goal for the hosts.

Rohde scored an early goal to give Catholic Central a 1-0 lead, and he recorded his second shortly after to give his team a two-goal advantage.

“Their second goal was incredible,” Kopp said. “We knew they are a good team. They are young. They have to be with the numbers they have. Our boys came over here expecting to win. That second goal was incredible. They came out with intensity. They played hard. They challenged us. They had their chances. They scored two early goals. They hustled. They left nothing on the field.”

After Rohde’s second goal, the Red Riders answered right back, as Morgan found the back of the net for the first time a couple of minutes later off of a feed from Bruno to cut Weir’s deficit to 2-1.

Morgan then tied the score two minutes later when he scored on a penalty kick after the Crusaders were called for a foul in the penalty box.

Then, Bruno scored off of an assist by Pittman to cap the comeback and give Weir a 3-2 lead.

“We were not sharp, and we were not focused,” Kopcha said. “We were not as sharp as we wanted to be, but we were able to create chances. We were able to create opportunities. We just were not able to score the tying goal.”

The Crusaders pushed for the tying goal throughout the second half, but Catholic Central was unable to find the back of the net.

“We start three freshmen,” Kopp said. “We lost Joe Iafrate. He tore his ACL. We cannot complain. We are just glad to be playing.”

Steubenville Catholic had a golden opportunity to score about 14 minutes into the second half when the team was awarded a penalty kick after a foul on Weir in the box. However, the shot was not on target and sailed wide of the goal, keeping the score at 3-2.

“That was an example of how we played,” Kopcha said. “We just lacked focus. We did not capitalize on our opportunities. We did not play with the same intensity and the same energy we had earlier. We were not able to come through.”

Steubenville Catholic had multiple shots sail over and wide of the goal in the second half.

“I have a lot of respect for coach Kopcha,” Kopp said. “He always has a good team. It doesn’t matter if they are young. It is never easy when we play them. They have put it to us in the past, but we have never put it to them. It is a good game no matter what.”

Weir had its share of opportunities to extend its lead in the second 40 of minutes of play, but they also were unable to find the back of the net.

“We knew they are good team,” Kopcha said. “We knew they are a talented team. They were able to control the ball. They had some nice possession. They moved the ball around. They switched fields. They have some good and talented kids. We knew it was going to be a good game. We knew it was going to be close. We knew it was going to be competitive. They came out, and they were more composed. They capitalized on their chances better than we did.”