CADIZ — With a game at MAPFRE Stadium in Columbus on Saturday, it would’ve been easy for the St. Clairsville girls’ soccer team to overlook a game at Harrison Central Monday night.

Wrong.

The Red Devils (4-0) scored early and often in defeating the homestanding Huskies (2-2) by a 7-2 count on the artificial surface at Wagner Field.

“We have to come out focused to play against whomever it is,” St. Clairsville head coach Wes Stoner stressed. “I told them tonight before the game that they couldn’t take Harrison Central lightly. We have to play everyone as if they are the best team on our schedule.

“We’re going to have to do the same thing Saturday against some good competition,” he continued. We came out focused and were passing the ball really well. We played really well defensively. We didn’t allow but maybe two shots in the first half. We played well.”

High-scoring Alyssa Otto netted the first three Red Devil goals for the natural hat trick. She got the scoring started in the seventh minute and her penalty kick in the 14th minute made it 2-0. The Mercyhurst University recruit completed the hat trick when she took a nifty feed from Macy Malin before dodging Huskies’ goalkeeper Britton Positano and depositing the ball into the empty net for a 3-0 reading.

Moments later, freshman Alyssa Bodkin dribbled the ball up the left sideline and beat a charging Positano with a strong right foot.

Malin made it 5-0 in the 26th minute when she curled in a shot from nearly 30 yards out.

The Huskies didn’t manage a shot until the 28th minute but Jaeda Nowak was up to the task. Five minutes later Bella Swan blocked a direct kick by Sydney Starr, but the hosts kept the pressure on.

Finally, Starr was awarded a penalty kick in the 36th minute and the senior standout buried the ball to the left of Nowak. It was not only Harrison Central’s first goal of the game, but it was also the first net-finder allowed by the Red Devils this season.

“The first goal we give up comes on a PK. That’s amazing,” Stoner said.

Otto finished with four goals, while Mikayla Hendershot also found the cage.

“I think Alyssa is starting to settle in. She missed a few shots tonight that she probably doesn’t miss too often,” Stoner added. “But it was hot.

“Their goalie is excellent. She had a lot of saves that probably would’ve been goals against another team,” Stoner noted of Positano. “She played an excellent game.”

Despite the outcome, first-year Harrison Central head coach Mindi Madzia was pleased with her team’s performance.

“We changed our formation earlier in the week and tried a preventive defense-type and I feel like each and every girl put up a good performance. They did exactly what we asked them to do,” she said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better performance from them against a good team like St. Clairsville.”

Gemma Downs scored the other Huskies goal.

Positano finished with 32 saves.

Nowak had one and Anna Woollard one for the Red Devils.