Article Photos

Advertisement

HARBORCREEK - Bring on the Lakers.

Eisenhower scored three goals in a span of 11 minutes in the second half of its District 10 Class A boys soccer contest Tuesday at Harbor Creek High School, erasing a first-half deficit and defeating Region 3 champion Fairview, 3-1.

With the win, the Knights (14-3) advance to the third District 10 championship game in school history Saturday against Mercyhurst Prep at a time and site that has yet to be determined. The Knights are 2-0 in D-10 title games, bringing home victories in 2005 and 2006.

"There was no panic," said Eisenhower coach Mike Decker about his team falling behind early. "We just stayed focused on getting that first goal to tie things up and went forward from there. We've got some very skilled players who play with a lot of pride and desire and I'm very proud of them. They stayed up and battled."

The Tigers, the Region 3 champions, struck first with a goal with 12:06 to play in the opening half when senior Ryan Hirst snuck the ball past Ike goalkeeper Will Cole. Fairview narrowly missed a chance to extend the lead just over five minutes later, but still held the 1-0 lead into halftime.

The second half was played fairly even and both teams struggled to gain momentum early. With 13 minutes gone in the second half, the Knights were presented with an opportunity and took full advantage.

Fairview's Derick Fiedler was called for a handball inside the box and the Knights were awarded a penalty kick. Decker chose Garrett Fiscus to take the kick and the Knights senior crushed the ball into the right side of the net to tie the game and steal the game's momentum.

The rest of the game belonged to the Knights.

It took less than two minutes for Ike to takes its first and last lead of the game. Paul Sherer dribbled the ball down the left side of the field and had teammate Dan Lane sneaking into the middle. Rather than take a risky cross, Sherer did the work himself and made a couple of nifty moves before putting the ball past Tigers keeper Steven Nixon.

Fiscus scored his second goal and completed Ike's offensive explosion with a goal with 15:28 to go to make it 3-1 Knights.

The Tigers had one last chance to get into the game when Josh Gdanetz was tripped in the box with 13:27 to play. However, his shot sailed high and off the crossbar and the Knights were able to hold on.

Mercyhurst Prep, Ike's opponent on Saturday, was a 2-0 winner over Mercer in the other D-10 Class A semifinal.