Photo by Kim North The St. Clairsville boys’ soccer team is pictured with their Ohio Division IV Eastern District 1 Championship Trophy after defeating West Muskingum 3-1 Thursday night at McFarland Stadium in Cambridge. The Red Devils play River View next Wednesday back in Cambridge in a Region 13 semifinal.

CAMBRIDGE — For only the second time in program history, the St. Clairsville boys’ soccer team is preparing to play in the Ohio regional tournament.

Thursday night in chilly Guernsey County, the top-seeded Red Devils (17-1-1) extended their magical season with a 3-1 victory over No. 3 West Muskingum (14-6) in the Division IV Eastern District 1 championship on the artificial pitch at McFarland Stadium.

“The boys played really well tonight and everybody stepped up. The fans were great. It’s an awesome feeling right now,” St. Clairsville head coach Jeff Roberts said.

With the victory, its second over the Tornadoes this season– it won 2-0 at Lower.com Field in Columbus– St. Clairsville punched its ticket to the Region 13 semifinals and will play second-seeded River View, which blanked No. 5 Beaver Local, 1-0, also on Thursday. That match will once again be contested at McFarland Stadium on Wednesday, with a 7 p.m. start.

“It really didn’t matter who we play. We’re coming to play regardless,” Roberts added. “We’re on a good high right now and all the players are feeling it. We’re ready for the next challenge.”

St. Clairsville, which won for the 11th straight time, scored all its goals off of set plays. With two coming off of headers and another with a shoulder.

“Three set pieces,” Roberts said of the goals. “Those pieces have been working for us and they were clutch tonight.”

Trevor Tuttle headed in a throw-in from Lucas Causey just 39 seconds into the match. Causey took the ball deep along the sideline in West Muskingum territory. His throw sailed into the box where Tuttle got a piece of the ball, sending it past goalkeeper Brooks McCune.

Three minutes later, high-scoring Parker Galloway banged a blast off the crossbar as the teams battled near the midfield area of the pitch.

Mavik Malin’s corner kick in the 27th minute was headed in by Galloway for a 2-0 reading. Malin sent the ball towards the net just like a chip shot towards the green where Galloway leaped above the crowd and banged it into the net.

“We came out strong in each half and were able to score quickly,” Roberts continued. “We were able to ride that momentum for a while after the first goal.

The Tornadoes responded quickly as Aiden Metz dribbled around a couple of defenders in the lower right of the box before finding the far corner of the net, making it 2-1 in the 30th minute.

“We were sitting back a little and let them dribble in too far,” Roberts said of the lone goal given up.

Early in the second half, Malin sent another corner kick towards the crease that Causey got a shoulder on and the ball found its way into the net for a 3-1 advantage in the 44th minute.

The Red Devils nearly added to their margin with a three-shot flurry on McCune in the 46th minute. He denied the initial shot before Camden Judge’s rebound hit McCune’s foot and caromed to Galloway, but McCune was able to punch that shot away.

St. Clairsville held a commanding 19-6 advantage in shots on goal, with 12 of those shots coming in the second 40 minutes.

Senior goalkeeper Talan Rice was only called upon to make five saves — just one in the second half. McCune totalled eight saves before being relieved by Weston Ritchie in the 57th minute. Ritchie recorded eight saves.

“I’ve been saying since the summer that this group has a chance to make the Final Four. That’s what we are shooting for and we’re not quitting until we get there,” he stressed.

The 17 wins ties the program record with the 2021 team, but that team had four losses, the last coming to Chillicothe Unioto, 3-2, in the Division II regional semifinals on the grass field at Cambridge High School.