Mooney defeats Akron SVSM

AKRON — It took a while for the Cardinal Mooney High boys soccer team to get on track Sunday, but a strong second half gave the undefeated Cardinals (4-0) a 3-1 win over Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary (2-1).

“St. Vincent is an athletic, very fast team,” Mooney coach Larry Lencyk said. “We were fortunate to come out of there with a win.”

A shot by Hector Hernandez off a Thomas Beck assist gave Mooney a 1-0 lead at the break.

James Simon took a Rob Fox pass and scored for a 2-0 lead, but the Irish scored off a set play to cut the deficit in half.

Beck got the insurance goal with Simon assisting.

“We haven’t played in eight days,” Lencyk said. “We had to chase them in the first half.

“Then we settled down and it carried over into the second half.”

Lencyk said the Irish attacked on the outside of the field early then his two outside midfielders, Simon and Chris Felker, established themselves and changed the momentum.

“They helped to turn it around,” Lencyk said. “They took over the outside and got us back into the game.”

Mooney senior goalie Brandon Fotiuk faced six shots on goal and turned away five.