The O’Neal School girls’ soccer team faced two big conference games this week.

It finished it 2-0.

Coming off Tuesday’s 3-1 win over Harrells Christian Academy, the Falcons returned home to beat Fayetteville Academy 2-1. This win was the first for the O’Neal seniors over the Eagles.

O’Neal came into the game 2-2-2 in conference play behind second-place Fayetteville Academy.

The Falcons scored the first two goals of the game, both coming in the first half of play. Mary Dixon scored the first goal of the game with an assist from Abbey Dahl.

“It was a great ball in by Abbey,” Falcon head coach Ted Hassenfelt said of the score. “Mary played the mistake from the goalkeeper, the keeper mishandled the ball, and Mary was there to put it into the back of the net.”

Madelyn Davis scored O’Neal’s other goal.

“Madelyn is one of our center midfielders that doesn’t get a lot of credit; she works hard,” Hassenfelt said. “It was really nice to see her get one in the net. It was a beautiful shot.”

The only score in the second half was by Fayetteville Academy on a penalty kick.

Most of play during the game was on the O’Neal half of the field. Hassenfelt explained, “We’re battling injuries and sickness. We had three starters missing so we had to change up our normal formation a little bit, so we went more defensive.”

The strategy worked, frustrating O’Neal’s opponents, who rarely had scoring opportunities. When Fayetteville Academy was able to get through O’Neal’s tenacious defense, freshman goalkeeper Alexandra Quevedo was there to make the save.

“I’m really proud of the girls,” Hassenfelt said. “For anybody on the team it was the first time they’ve beaten Fayetteville Academy, and for us to step up and take that game, I’m proud of them. Excellent game.”

The Lady Falcons host conference leading Cape Fear Academy Tuesday. A win would put O’Neal in contention for the top spot in the conference.