IN PURSUIT — Oak Glen’s Addyson Wells and St. Clairsville’s Kaylee Shafer give chase to get possession of the ball. - Kailin Hughes

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Senior night at St. Clairsville between the host Red Devils and visiting Oak Glen Golden Bears.

Both teams feature solid back lines with capable keepers.

Entering Tuesday’s matchup, the Red Devils surrendered only 1.3 goals per game. Their counterpart was close behind at allowing 1.6 per game.

Through nearly the entirety of regulation, neither team managed to get a legit scoring opportunity. That is until the 3:20 mark of the second half.

Sophomore Elizabeth Morgan took the ball on the left side and passed into the middle to classmate Emma Gasber.

Gasber took a couple dribbles to the right and fired upwards from the 15-yard-line, just astop the outstretched hands of Cameron Michaud for the eventual game winner.

The win improves the Red Devils to 10-4-1 heading into tonight’s regular-season finale on the road at John Marshall.

St. C. recently earned the top seed in the East District 1 tournament. They await the winner of Wednesday’s East Liverpool vs. Cambridge sectional opener. Either the Potters or the Bobcats will face the Red Devils on Monday, October 21.

The hosts nearly went ahead 1-0 in the first half with 34:15 showing when sophomore Ashlyn Lednik hit a hard line drive netward that ringed off the right-side post and bounced harmlessly to the opposite side of Michaud where her defense alertly cleared the ball.

That was the only legitimate scoring opportunity for either team in the first half.

Oak Glen had a couple of changes on corner and direct kicks, but never quite got the placement for a shot on St. C. keeper Kiya Kyer, who totaled just two saves for her second-straight shutout after a 0-0 tie against highly touted John Glenn on October 1.

This is St. Clairsville’s best season since finishing 14-3-3 back in 2021, a season in which the Devils fell to rival Big Red in the postseason.

The Golden Bears (6-10-3) return to New Manchester on Thursday to face Edison with a chance to build a little momentum before the postseason begins with a contest against cross-county rival and OVAC 4A champion Weir looming.

In two matches against the Red Riders this season, Oak Glen fell both times by a narrow 2-0 verdict.