Not even a tornado warning on Wednesday could slow down the O’Neal School’s boys’ soccer team.

Neither could the Union Pines Vikings, as the Falcons posted a 3-1 win over the visiting Vikes at Mauser Field. The tornado warning had been issued earlier in the day, but it was deemed to safe to play by game time.

The intra-county clash was the first of the season for Union Pines, while the Falcons improved to 2-0 for the season with the win.

J.R. Moore had a big game for O’Neal, having a hand in all three goals collected by the Falcons. He assisted on two scores and scored one himself. The other goals were provided by Rick Catania and Logan Butler.

For Union Pines, Adam Howard scored the only goal.

Falcon coach David Wood said that Union Pines never gave up and played with a consistent intensity, staying in the game until late in the second half, but the technical ability, depth and athleticism of his team won out in the end.

O’Neal took a 1-0 halftime lead when Catania scored off an assist from Moore in the 34th minute.

Early in the second half, Moore scored off an impressive dribble through the Union Pines defense to put O’Neal up 2-0.

The Vikings finally got on the board at the 58-minute mark when Howard recorded his goal, a goal that seemed to inspire Union Pines, Wood said. He said that the Vikings had the momentum for about 10 minutes after Howard’s goal, but a fresh round of substitutions allowed O’Neal to come roaring back.

Logan Butler scored the final goal of the game, off an assist from Moore, at the 75-minute mark. O’Neal outshot the Vikings 17 to nine.

The Falcons travel to Wilmington today to take on a potent Cape Fear Academy team.