STEUBENVILLE — Set pieces are often overlooked in the game soccer, however, they proved to be the difference in a matchup of quality teams.

The Catholic Central girls soccer team was undefeated when it stepped on to the pitch against rival Wheeling Central Wednesday, however, the Maroon Knights tallied three goals off corner kicks en route to a 3-0 victory to knock the Crusaders from the ranks of the unbeaten at the Tony Recinella Soccer Field.

“We just didn’t mark them on those corners,” Catholic Central (8-1-1) head coach Jonathan Hoover said. “We kept them off the scoreboard during the run of play, but we lost focus on those set pieces.”

The girls from Ohio County netted two goals in the first half and one in the second. The visitors recorded a goal with less than a minute to play in each half.

“Set pieces are not our strongest suit,” Wheeling Central (7-1-1) head coach Ashley Winters said. “I am happy with the surprise.

“We knew what we needed to do. This was a big game for the OVAC standings. It was two small Catholic schools playing each other. We have been playing them for a long time. We were able to get the job done today.

“It was not the prettiest, but a win is a win. The Catholic Central girls did well on this field. They were prepared. Overall, it was a decent game, but it was not our best.”

Loni Kusic contributed a goal and an assist to lead the way offensively for the girls in white, while Mariah Ratcliffe and Gianna Konkle each collected one. Addie Payton added an assist for the victors.

“We do practice defending corners, but they were able to get into open areas that we left undefended,” Hoover said.

Wheeling Central tallied goals on 60 percent of their corner kicks, including their only one of the second half. The Maroon Knights had a 5-2 advantage in corners in the match.

“They are something we practice,” Winters said about corner kicks. “We practice corner kicks. “We have certain girls who take them because they know what to do. Those goals were a pleasant surprise. Normally, we score from the field. It was a nice surprise.”

The Maroon Knights delivered their first goal about 17 minutes into the match to take a 1-0 lead. Then, Wheeling Central found the back of the net for the second time with less than a minute remaining to be played before halftime.

“We knew what they were going to do,” Hoover said. “They lived up to expectations. They played the way we expected. They had very good ballhandling. They had a good attack. They played solid defense. They were able to capitalize on our mistakes today.”

The score remained 2-0 until there was less than a minute left in the match. The Maroon Knights took a corner kick, the ball bounced around as the Blue-and-Gold were unable to clear out, and Konkle knocked a shot into the back of the net to increase Wheeling Central’s advantage to 3-0.

Wheeling Central outshot the girls in blue, 13-3. The Maroon Knights took eight shots on goal, while the Crusaders took two. The winning team also had a shot hit the post and another hit the crossbar.

“They did a good job of keeping possession of the ball,” Hoover said. “We were not able to keep possession of the ball in the middle of the field. That is where you win or lose games.”

Wheeling Central’s offensive pressure forced the hosts into taking 11 goal kicks, while the Maroon Knights took five.

“It is always a good game whenever we play Wheeling Central, especially with our rankings in the OVAC,” Hoover said. “We knew this was a big game. It was a rivalry game.”

Josey Urbanczyk made five saves in goal for Catholic Central.

Bella Fitzsimmons made two saves in goal for the Maroon Knights.

“We are where we want to be at this point of the season,” Winters said. “Our only loss of the season came against Parkersburg South.

“We lost, 1-0. The season is going how we anticipated it to go. We set goals and expectations for ourselves in the summer. We are pushing forward to those. We are in a good position. We are looking to achieve those goals come November.”

Wheeling Central is scheduled to play University today at home. The Maroon Knights have been quite busy recently as their match against the Hawks will be their fifth from last Thursday to today.

“We do this every year,” Winters said. “It is the same week every year. We play four games in seven days. This should not come as a surprise. The girls know this happens every year. This a week where they should not close their eyes.”

Catholic Central is slated to play Jefferson County rival Indian Creek Thursday on the road inside Kettlewell Stadium. The JV team is set to play Shenandoah Monday.

“You don’t want to forget about this game,” Hoover said. “You want to learn from your mistakes. You want to fix them. You want to be a solid team. We will see them again.”