ST. CLAIRSVILLE’S Bella Swann (2) battles with Dover’s Maddie Cercone for possession of the ball during their Division II, Region 7 semifinal at Red Devil Stadium Tuesday night.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Members of the St. Clairsville girls soccer team will remember their first trip to the regional tournament for the historical factor, not the final result.

With four integral parts of their starting lineup out with injuries, the Red Devils — aka the ‘walking wounded’ — were blanked 4-0 by third-seeded Dover Tuesday night in a Division II, Region 7 semifinal on the artificial pitch inside Red Devil Stadium.

Seniors Macy Malin and Eliana Watt, along with juniors Alyssa Bodkin and Emily Thompson, could only watch from the sidelines as the fourth seeds saw their season end at 12-6-2. The Tornadoes, meanwhile, move on to Saturday’s regional final opposite Chillicothe Unioto or Granville with a berth in the state semifinals on the line.

“They never gave up. You’ve got to be proud of them. You can’t do anything about injuries. That’s the way it is,” St. Clairsville head coach Wes Stoner said while holding back some emotions. “Missing four starters, technically, we battled.

“If the kids can’t play. They can’t play. It’s unfortunate, but you’ve got to play on,” he added.”

The aforementioned quartet had combined for 25 goals this season, with Bodkin registering 21. Malin, who was lost for the season before it ever began with a knee injury which required surgery, scored once on Senior Night for her 60th career tally. Bodkin and Thompson were both lost in Saturday’s upset shootout win over John Glenn, 2-1, while Watt was injured a few weeks ago.

“Dover is an extremely talented team and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them go to the Final Four or even the finals,” Stoner said of the Tornadoes who scored two goals in each half last night. “They have players everywhere.”

The game was the final one for a group of seven seniors who established a school-record for most wins in a career with 47. In addition to Malin and Watt, Mikayla Hendershot, Jaeda Nowak, Bella Swan, Ariel Ott and Kellen Weidman also suited up for the final time as Red Devils.

“Jaeda stood on her head once again,” Stoner praised of the program’s all-time winningest goalkeeper. “But she had to face way too many chances.”

Nowak, who made the final stop in the shootout Saturday to propel the Red Devils in unchartered waters, recorded 15 saves.

“We couldn’t sustain an attack and that allowed Dover to keep attacking us,” Stoner continued. “As good as our defense is, it could only hold up for so long.”

Dover (12-5-3) received first-half goals from Lydia Frank, whose blast in the 18th minute re-directed off a St. Clairsville player and into the cage. Emma Smith made it 2-0 three minutes later when she dribbled the ball nearly the length of the field before rolling the ball along the turf and into the corner to Nowak’s right.

Maddie Cercone’s laser into the bottom right corner and just inside the post bumped the count to 3-0 in the 61st minute. Lauren Grafe finished the scoring with a goal in the 67th minute off a Frank assist.

Goalkeeper Addie Martin was only called upon to make one save, that coming on Megan Malin in the 54th minute.

“We started two freshmen and a couple of sophomores. We had a lot of youth on the field in an important game,” Stoner advised. “That’s some good experience against a very good team for these young girls.”