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TROY, Ill. — Aiden Novich didn't have to look up when he crossed the ball back into the penalty box. 

The Triad High junior sensed that someone would be there, and it was no surprise it was senior teammate Eli Noonan streaking toward the net.

"I think our chemistry playing together, from playing club and high school the past few years, we knew he'd be there," Novich said. 

Noonan bolted through the swarming Father McGivney defense and buried Novich's cross for the game's opening goal to send Triad on to a 2-0 victory in a nonconference boys soccer game Tuesday evening.

"Getting that first goal, it felt like the momentum was in our hands," Noonan said. "It felt rewarding."

Triad (2-0-1) has beaten Father McGivney six of the last seven meetings, with its lone setback coming in a 1-0 shutout last year on the road. 

Noonan's first-half goal at the 10-minute mark was the first goal allowed by the Griffins (3-1) in their first four games of the season.

The goal came from a free kick just outside the box, a particular set piece the Knights had worked on over the weekend in preparation for Tuesday's matchup.

"The play is where I run over it first, then Reid (Heffren) played me the ball," Novich said. "I had two people in front of me, so I slotted it in between them and Eli was there and he just kind of shot it in. It was a good finish."

Noonan saw Father McGivney goalie Patrick Gierer blazing to the open space to disrupt the play. 

"I saw an opening and I tried to dart in front of their keeper and hit it in," Noonan said. 

Noonan's first goal of the season gave the Knights a 1-0 lead, but the Griffins went screaming on the offensive. 

Within five minutes of the game's opening goal, Father McGivney began to dominate, putting significant pressure on the Triad defense.

"We always talk about how after you score a goal, you have to pick up your tempo and we went the whole different way," Triad coach Jim Jackson said. "They started getting some stuff. They got us very nervous, and they're very dangerous. I thought that one of the strengths was their set pieces."

For the final 15 minutes of the first half, Father McGivney banged on the door to no avail. In the 47th minute, Triad's leading scorer, junior Colby Wheat, buried a shot past the outstretched hands of Gierer to give Triad some breathing room with a 2-0 lead. 

It was Wheat's fifth goal of the season. 

"Kudos to Triad, that's a good team that's athletic and deep," Father McGivney coach Brett Schubert said. "For us, we just have to scratch this and move on to the next one. Get healthy and move on."

The first-year Griffins coach is interested in seeing how his team will respond after suffering its first loss of the season.

"We came out 3-0 in the Metro Cup, and that was a good showing there," Schubert said. "We're still encouraged, but from such a young team, it's about how we respond for adversity. I thought we competed very well tonight, but we had a couple of opportunities that we couldn't put away."

Knights junior goalkeeper Damian Jordan recorded his first shutout of the season, collecting two saves. 

"He doesn't talk much, but you could hear him yelling back there," Noonan said. "He helped us maintain our shape, and he was ready."

Jackson gave a lot of credit to Gierer, who recorded five saves for Father McGivney. 

"It's like having an extra goal post when you have a goalie like that," Jackson said. "He's only a junior and he's going to get better."

After a three-game stretch of juggernauts such as O'Fallon, Collinsville and Father McGivney, Jackson joked that he had an easy start to the season with a relatively unproven team. 

O'Fallon, Collinsville and Father McGivney combined to total 41 victories last year. 

Jackson said he doesn't really sub a lot throughout the games, but on Tuesday, he implemented wholesale changes at times to see how his team would respond.

"We played well last week, but the guys talk about effort and we're still looking for pieces," Jackson said. "We were subbing here and there and giving kids opportunities. Some kids are stepping up."