NEW WILMINGTON — Ethan Bryan sprinted to the sideline, waving his hands wildly, then raised them in the cold autumn air in triumph.

The Slippery Rock High senior's goal off a direct kick with 11:37 remaining in the match gave the Rockets a two-goal lead over rival Hickory — more than enough cushion on the way to a 2-0 win over the Hornets in the District 10 Class AA semifinals at Wilmington High.

For three years, Slippery Rock has fought to get over this hump, losing each time in the second round of the district playoffs.

"This is probably the best feeling ever," said senior forward Dan Jeon, who scored the first goal midway through the first half on a perfectly placed direct kick. "Breaking that curse of losing in the second round my freshman, sophomore and junior years is amazing."

Slippery Rock (17-2-1), which beat Hickory for the second time in two weeks after losing to the Hornets at home earlier in the season, did it Wednesday with a stifling defense and some clutch saves by goalkeeper Tyler Little.

Little deflected a shot over the crossbar minutes after the Rockets took a 2-0 lead. He ended up with six saves.

"He's been great all season for us," said Slippery Rock coach Anthony Buzard. "He just has a knack of knowing when to come out and cut things off. He was tremendous."

So was Jeon, the team's leading scorer, who made life difficult for Hickory all night.

"He has great speed, great ball skills, great vision," Buzard said. "He's a complete player for us."

Slippery Rock will face Harbor Creek, which won 1-0 over Erie Central Tech in the other semifinal match, for the district title Saturday at a time and site to be determined.

The Rockets never have won a district championship and have reached just one final, losing to Harbor Creek 5-0 in 2004.

No matter what happens Saturday, the Rockets will play on. The top two teams in the district have a spot in the PIAA playoffs, which begin Tuesday.

But the focus for Slippery Rock is squarely on winning a district title

"I think this is

the team," Jeon said. "We've worked so hard to get this. This is the year, I believe."

The Rockets made the most of their chances against the Lakers in the District 10 Class AAA semifinal.The problem for the Rockets was the chances were few and far between."They were the better team," said Slippery Rock coach Les Smith. "I can't even argue we had some opportunities, because we really didn't. Every opportunity we had, we finished, which was one."Mercyhurst outshot Slippery Rock 15-5. The only real scoring threat for Slippery Rock resulted in a goal when Sarah Cessar sent a direct kick that glanced off the crossbar right to Morgan Siebka, who booted the ball past Mercyhurst goalkeeper Ashley Cosme with 26:33 remaining in the match.But the goal was too little, too late for the Rockets, who fell behind 2-0 in the first half.The Siebka goal did give the Rockets some life, but Sarah Kaiser scored for Mercyhurst eight minutes later.Slippery Rock (14-3-2) wasn't accustomed to trailing by such a wide margin. The Rockets had surrendered only 11 goals in 18 games.But the Lakers wasted little time getting on top. Kaylin Akerly scored on a wide-open breakaway shot with 29:32 left in the first half. Four minutes later, Christine Haverly scored on a perfectly placed shot to give Mercyhurst a 2-0 lead."That first goal was just a defensive breakdown. (Goalkeeper Ali Doyle) had no chance," Smith said, "The second goal was a great one no matter what the level."Doyle, who combined with her defense for 12 shutouts this season, kept the Rockets within reach with eight saves ¿ most of them difficult ones."It could have been 5-1 without Doyle," Smith said.Now Smith will have to find a way to replace five senior starters, including Cessar, the leading scorer, and much of the defense, including Doyle."I'm really close to this group that is leaving," Smith said. "They are strong. They bust their butt. It's going to be tough finding a way to replace these players. Who knows if it can be done."