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WARREN -- The Warren G. Harding Raiders soccer team overcame a second-half push by Warren JFK, winning 3-2 on Jaden Ingram's two goals.
Inside Mollenkopf Stadium, the Raiders held on after taking a 2-0 halftime lead as defense was the name of the game in the second half. The Raiders improved to 2-3 on the season as JFK fell to 3-2-1.
Harding head coach Troy Elsea said the early scores were a huge boost to the team's confidence.
"It was huge, a lot of times when a team scores on us early, we put our heads down," Elsea said. "It's very crucial to come out and get that first goal, because in the second half, our kids feed off that."
As JFK started slowly, the Raiders jumped out to an early lead in the first half as Mario Sylvester scored on a penalty kick and put the Raiders on the board with 35 minutes remaining in the first half.
Ingram followed with a goal, giving the Raiders a 2-0 lead, a lead the Raiders kept all the way through halftime.
As the second half got underway, the momentum shifted to JFK as Jayden Santiago found the back of the net just two minutes into the half, cutting the Eagles deficit to one goal.
After a defensive back-and-forth battle, Ingram struck again for the Raiders with 20 minutes left in the second half to give the Raiders a 3-1 lead.
JFK's Lyric Shields scored on a penalty kick to put JFK within a score. It was a defensive game for the rest of the way as Raiders goalkeeper Danny Long stopped every opportunity for The Eagles to tie or take the lead including two big saves with under five minutes left.
A big challenge for the Raiders this season has been not putting a full game together, and Elsea said it was a great opportunity to do it.
"We were winning at halftime and throughout the game and finished the game strong," Elsea said. "We might have played more defensively in the second half, but that got us the win."
JFK Eagles head coach Brian Stiles said he liked the way the team played with effort in the second half, but the game got away in the first half.
"I think we just got flustered, we were struggling to keep up with the speed of Harding," Stiles said. "Once we got a feel for the game, I thought we played much better."
Stiles said the young team's second-half performance and close ballgame shows where they need to build on.
"We know what we're capable of, but we gotta put two halves together," Stiles said. "We gotta figure out what speed we have to play at for 80 minutes, right now we're doing it for 40."
Warren G. Harding will return to action Thursday at 7:15 p.m. against Austintown Fitch at Mollenkopf Stadium. JFK will be on the road as it goes up against the Columbiana Clippers 11 a.m. Saturday at the Ward Athletic Complex.