CORRY – Mercyhurst Prep soccer has reached a level of success most programs in this area can only dream of, having won four of the last five District 10 Class A Championships.

There is little evidence that would suggest it won’t become five of six this weekend.

Their dominance is something Eisenhower knows all too well. The Lakers scored four goals in the first eight minutes of action and went on to beat the Knights, 7-0, in Thursday’s District 10 Class A semifinal match at Corry High School’s Sheen Field.

The loss ends Ike’s season with an overall record of 12-5-1. The Knights’ only losses have been to Region 3 opponents Mercyhurst Prep and Fairview – the teams that will meet for the district title on Saturday.

“They’re just an all-around sound team,” said Eisenhower coach Greg VanOrd of the 18-1-1 Lakers. “They control the ball – they don’t just hit it, they pass with a purpose. They all know what their roles are within their positions rather than playing all over the field… We knew it was going to take playing a perfect game to beat them.”

It took just over two minutes from the starting whistle for Mercyhurst Prep striker Alex Schroeck, a 100-goal scorer, to find the back of the net. Schroeck gathered in a pass from teammate Alex Lee Yaw down the middle of the field and fired a rocket into the cage to put the Lakers up 1-0.

Lee Yaw tallied the next marker when he booted a ball from roughly 30 yards out that beat Ike keeper Alex Johnson. Johnson made a nice save on a Nick Ganger header less than a minute later, but Schroeck was there to finish the play to make it a three-goal lead.

Mercyhurst Prep’s aggressive attack continued, and Patrick Frauenknecht got in on the action when he lofted a high shot from the right side that cleared the defense and bounced into the goal. Fraunknecht scored his second marker midway through the half on a free kick after he was taken down by a slide tackle just outside the box.

Trailing by five going into the break, the Knights were faced with the decision to pack it in or go down swinging. Ike ramped up its defensive pressure in the second half and kept the Lakers off the board until the 70th minute.

“We noticed near the end of the first half that Noah (VanHouten) was marking Schroeck pretty well and shutting him down, so we had him just follow him around the field,” VanOrd said. “It ended up taking away some of their offense and bringing play a little more to our side of the field.”

Eisenhower defenders Troy Myer, Levi Hendrickson, Grant Venman, Chris Johnson and Michael Thomas made several tackles to stop Mercyhurst Prep runs in the second half.

Alex Johnson continued to show resolve in net, finishing the night with 25 saves.

The Lakers added two more goals late in the half – one by Ganger and one by Owuraku Anim-Somuah.

Mercyhurst Prep – having outscored opponents 14-1 in the postseason thus far – will play Fairview for the District 10 Class A title Saturday at Edinboro University. Fairview shut out Mercer, 3-0, in Thursday’s other semifinal match.