Staff photo / Dan Hiner Mooney's Mia Williams (16) celebrates with her teammates after scoring a second-half goal against Kennedy on Wednesday.

YOUNGSTOWN – The first half was a bit of a feeling-out process. Quality offensive chances were rare, but the defenses kept both teams in the game.

The second half saw more offense, but neither the Cardinal Mooney or Kennedy girls soccer team could pull ahead, finishing with a 1-1 tie on Wednesday at Cardinal Mooney High School.

Four goalies were used – two by each team – and outside of a couple breakaway chances, they were flawless.

Liviah Hunt made two stops in the start for Cardinal Mooney. Junior Sophia Dibo began the second half for the Cardinals and stopped three shots.

Rylie Curd turned away four shots for the Eagles, but she was pulled after a collision with a teammate with 26:10 to play. Fletcher moved to the net to replace her senior teammate and stopped a pair of shots.

The first 40 minutes went by without much action. The starting goalies for both teams were given a couple tests, but neither team managed to break the goal line.

Mooney coach Agni Cvercko said that her team played a more structured first half, but the Cardinals (1-2-1) struck first on the scoreboard early in the second.

With 38:49 left in the second half, freshman Mia Williams received a pass from Olivia Schrickel down the right sideline. Williams used her speed to pull ahead of the Eagles in the box and got enough room to get off a shot.

“They kept their intensity up,” Cvercko said. “I think they were a little more panicky in the second half, trying to hold on to that win until (JFK’s Andrea Ryan) scored.”

Ryan tied the game with 19:32 remaining. She took the ball near JFK’s 25-yard line and weaved her way through the Mooney defense. She bounced left after Dibo attempted a sliding stop and found the back of the net for the Eagles (3-1-1).

“She is phenomenal,” Warren JFK coach Kayla Zoccole said. “She is someone that when we are down, she brings us up to win, tie games, all of the above.”

Both coaches thought there were some missed opportunities. Zoccole thought her team started slow and found another gear in the second half, a trend she hopes will change soon. Meanwhile, Cvercko said her team didn’t follow their shots well, and the Cardinals didn’t capitalize on rebound attempts for second shots.

“I don’t want to be a second-half team anymore. I want to be a first-half team,” Zoccole said. “I want to show up and do all the things we eventually get to. We’ve been lucky the last couple games that it hasn’t been too detrimental.”