So while the Warren Dragons have always been confident in senior Alex Ferry, they’ve never really needed him.

On Tuesday night they needed him — and Ferry came through with the game of his life.

Junior JT Blum and sophomore Parks Ordiway each scored a goal, and Ferry made 16 saves as Warren won its District 10 Class 3A semifinal, 2-0, over General McLane at War Memorial Field.

“He hasn’t had a lot of action on him this year,” Warren senior midfielder John Page said of Ferry. “Today he proved why he’s our keeper.”

Times Observer Photo by Scott Reagle Members of the Warren team celebrate at the end of their 2-0 win over General McLane at War Memorial Field.

“It was unbelievable,” added Dragons head coach Denny Flatt. “It was one of the best keeper performances I’ve seen in a long time.”

Next up for the Dragons is Thursday’s district title game against Cathedral Prep at 7 p.m. back at War Memorial Field.

“Prep is going to be an even better team than this,” Warren senior midfielder Ian Darling said of the Ramblers. “They have great players, including Jack Foht. … We have to compete at the highest level.”

The test for Warren will likely be a daunting one. In three wins over General McLane this season, Cathedral Prep (12-3-0) outscored the Lancers, 27-2. Just Monday night, the Ramblers beat Meadville, 12-0, in their own District 10 semifinal.

“Cathedral Prep is a good team, we know that,” Page said. “We want to come into the game and play our hearts out like we did tonight.”

OBSERVER Photo by Scott Reagle Warren’s Ian Dirling (18) prepares to block General McLane’s Zack Rollands pass.

General McLane put up a fight against the undefeated Dragons on Tuesday, at times dominating play in the opening 20 minutes.

Each time the Lancers tested Warren with their speed on the outside, they were shut down by the defensive quartet of Ethan Best, Sean Duckett, Jack Darling and Ricky Madril.

“Their speed of play was something we haven’t seen this year. We’d seen some good teams, but their speed of play was really something we needed to get our minds back on,” Warren assistant coach Chris Darling said. “We knew we could play with them. … There were some touches we needed to clean up and we needed to get more active.”

In fact, General McLane was awarded four corner kicks in the opening 20-plus minutes of the game, only to be turned away each time — including an impressive punch save by Ferry in the seventh minute. Then in the 23rd minute, Lancers sophomore Cooper Williams rang a shot off the crossbar from long range.

“We were making sure people were marked. When you do defend (a corner), it’s important to make sure it isn’t given back to the other team,” Flatt said. “Unfortunately they had a lot of corner kicks, but we were able to not give them second or third chances.”

While their chances were limited more than any other game this season, the Dragons finally broke through in the 37th minute. Senior Ian Darling sent a through ball into the 18-yard box. Blum ran to the ball and got a sliding right foot on it just before General McLane junior goalkeeper Isaac Mroz was able to cover it, sending the ball into the far corner of the net for a 1-0 lead.

“We’re trying to find seams. We thought once we got to the backline there was some opportunity. The problem was piecing it together and building,” Flatt said. “Once we figured it out, there was a seam and we were able to put it away.”

Blum was injured on the play and left the game momentarily, but the damage was already done.

“He got the shot off and he paid the price,” Flatt added. “He was willing to take it.”

Despite facing a 1-0 deficit, General McLane did not back down in the second half. In the 41st minute, the Dragons were awarded a corner kick and Jack Darling’s header went just over the crossbar before the Lancers missed a header of their own in the 60th minute.

With just over nine minutes showing in the clock, Ferry came up with his biggest save of the night — and likely his career — stopping a point-blank General McLane shot on the back post. The rebound bounced toward the middle of the 18-yard box and another Lancers’ shot was put just wide.

“It was the game of his life. All week in practice he’s made some really nice saves. We’ve worked a lot on him getting a lot of reps. He’s responded well,” Chris Darling said. ” … He’s notched a lot of shutouts, but this one was the real deal. It’s a special one.”

“He was awesome. He kept us in the game,” Dragons senior midfielder Zane Anderson said of Ferry. “He’s a great keeper. He does his job well.”

Finally, with General McLane trying its hardest to tie the game, Warren was able to find another gap in the Lancers defense. Ordiway overran the ball and sent it to the middle before Page eventually tapped it back to Ordiway. The Dragons’ leading scorner settled the ball with his left foot and touched a shot just over the outstretched hand of a leaping Mroz and into the net for a 2-0 lead.

“Speed and finesse. He’s always a threat out there,” Flatt said of Ordiway. “Even when he doesn’t get the ball, just the threat of him being out there opens other people up.”

The two goals stood up Tuesday night, but the Dragons may need to find more offense to overcome Cathedral Prep on Thursday.

“We expect to play Warren soccer. We’re going to play the best we can possibly play,” Flatt said. ” … We’re not backing down from anyone.”

“Those boys put their pants on one leg at a time, too,” Chris Darling added of the Ramblers. “We’re ready. We’re going to give it a go.”

NOTES: Page led Warren with 20 tackles and eight steals; Wesley Kiehl had 18 tackles and five steals; and Jack Darling had nine tackles and two steals.