Photo by Cody Nespor Wheeling Central’s Mariah Ratcliffe dribbles past a Magnolia defender on a breakaway during an OVAC Class 1A/3A semifinal Tuesday at 16th Street Field.

WHEELING — The Wheeling Central girls soccer team seemed to heat up as the night grew colder Tuesday in a 9-0 victory over Magnolia in an OVAC 1A/3A semifinal game at 16th Street Field.

“I think we played a really, really tough game,” Central coach Mackenzie Smith said. “Our second half was better than our first but we went out, played as a team, communicated and that’s what I love to see.”

The Maroon Knights (10-4-1) dominated possession throughout the game and perpetually kept the ball right on the doorstep of the Blue Eagles’ goal. Despite that, Magnolia (2-8-3) played tough defense inside its own box and did not allow many good looks, especially early on.

“Magnolia played a hell of a game defense-wise,” Smith said. “They kept us outside of the box so we had no choice but to shoot outside.”

Central’s first goal would not have netted many style points, but it counted on the scoreboard all the same as Mariah Ratcliffe emerged from a scrum with the ball bouncing to her foot and sent a one-timer into the back of the net 12 minutes into the contest.

The second goal of the game came from a great individual effort from Central’s Ariana Pompeo, who intercepted a goal kick and scored one-on-one against Magnolia’s keeper.

“She’s good, no assists needed there,” Smith said of Pompeo’s goal. “She’s quick on it, knows where to step, keeps her head up and she took the shot.”

Radcliffe scored again later in the half on a shot from the left side and Peyton Smith cleaned up a mess in the box by finding the back of the net with two minutes left for a 4-0 halftime lead.

“Our goals in the first half were very much needed,” Coach Smith said. “Magnolia held us very, very strong on defense. They were tough in the box and didn’t let a lot of shots on. A good bit (of our shots) were off, but the few shots that we made in the first half really, really saved us and they were good, powerful shots.”

The Knight’s turned the pressure up further in the second half and scored in bunches. Pompeo scored three times breaking through the Blue Eagle defensive line, Addie Payton added a goal at the three-minute mark and an own goal off of a corner kick in the waning second led to the 9-0 final score.

Pompeo finished with four goals and two assists while Ratcliffe had two goals. Peyton Smith had a goal and an assist while Payton had a goal. Ramsay Mansuetto recorded two assists while Gianna Conkle and Faith Zende each had a helper.

Magnolia’s Marley Aliff turned in an admirable performance in net. She made several impressive saves, but Central’s constant pressure allowed several balls to get through.

Wheeling Central, the tournament’s No. 1 seed, advances to Saturday’s championship game at Red Devil Stadium in St. Clairsville. The Knights will take on the winner of Steubenville CC at Linsly to be played Thursday.

Central coach Ashley Winters said playing their semifinal on Tuesday will give the team time to rest and get ready for Saturday.

“I prefer playing early (in the week) like this,” Winters said. “That’s the advantage of the No. 1 seed that we worked hard for. Now we have two days to regroup, focus on the task at hand Saturday and prep.”