The O’Neal School saw 82 minutes of winning soccer flash before its eyes Tuesday hosting Grace Christian of Sanford.

Eyeing their first win since Oct. 7, 2008, the Falcons held a 3-2 lead with less than 10 minutes to play when Grace’s star forward, Aaron Norris, broke away from the defense with only keeper Brandt Davis to beat.

“I’ve got to be honest, I thought it was going to be a tied game,” O’Neal coach Ted Hassenfelt said.

Instead, Davis stepped up and used his right hand to avert Norris’s right-footed shot, and the Falcons held on for an improbable 3-2 win in their season-opener.

“When I saw him shooting, I just got on my toes and reacted to the shot,” Davis said. “You’re in the moment. You don’t really think about things like tied games.”

A draw would have been a welcome result for the Falcons a season ago. They finished 0-17-0 in 2009, including 0-8-0 in Cape Fear Independent Conference play.

Tuesday’s result ended a 20-game losing streak, and Hassenfelt believes more wins are forthcoming.

“We’ve only been practicing for five or six days, and I think I can start to see this one starting to gel,” he said. “I think we’re going to have a special season this year.”

The Falcons jumped out to a 1-0 advantage in the first half when Stephen Chamberlain fed Bryce Baldelli for a goal, but Grace answered with a long shot from Norris that found the back of the net to tie things 1-all at halftime.

O’Neal regained the advantage when Jacob Talbert opened the second-half scoring with an unassisted goal. Then, J.R. Moore scored the eventual game-winner off an assist from Rick Catania.

The Crusaders, who finished 19-3 a season ago, cut the margin to 3-2 on a penalty kick, but Norris’s breakaway in the waning minutes was as close as they’d come to scoring the equalizer.

“It feels so good,” said Davis. “We’ve got some really good new players, our defense is really strong and our team is a lot more together this year, and you can tell that in every practice.”

And when everything else breaks down, it's the keeper's job to be the last line of defense.

“It was an excellent save, one of the best saves I’ve seen him make,” said Hassenfelt.

The Falcons are back in action next Wednesday at North Moore.