MEADVILLE - Greg Walter hates to give up goals.

So, he doesn't.

The Slippery Rock High School goalkeeper notched his 14th shutout of the season, stopping six shots and thwarting even more potential chances from the Fort LeBoeuf boys soccer team with his aggressive play as the Rockets toppled the Bison 1-0 in the District 10, Class AA semifinals Wednesday night.

"He's a very solid, great goalie," said Slippery Rock coach Anthony Buzard. "Our defense has been playing this way all season. They just hate to be scored on."

Walter was aggressive, coming out to challenge would-be scoring opportunities from Fort LeBoeuf and stopping them before they had the chance to develop.

For most coaches, that would elicit some serious heart flutters. But not for Buzard, who has grown accustomed to Walter's frenetic approach to goalkeeping.

"We he comes out, I have confidence in him," Buzard said.

Senior Drew Craig gave Walter and the defense all the scoring it would need when he punched in a goal off a rebound with 3:58 remaining in the first half.

The Rockets (18-1-2) used their speed and quickness to full advantage, out-shooting the Bison 20-14 in the contest.

Early on, Slippery Rock peppered the goal with shot after shot. Ryan Zarichnak was particularly busy, firing five shots at Fort LeBoeuf keeper Rick Osborne in the opening minutes of the match.

Zarichnak set up the Craig goal when he fired a shot that caromed off of Osborne.

"When I saw that, I thought, 'This is a pretty good chance,'" Buzard said.

"They're a pretty quick team," said Fort LeBoeuf coach Bryan Kowalczyk. "And they have a pretty solid goalkeeper. That helps, too."

What didn't help the Bison (14-7) was the fact they were playing for most of the contest without their two leading scorers.

Dion Larese spent the game hobbling around on crutches on the sideline and Steve Mischler injured his knee in the first half when he somersaulted over Walter as he approached the goal for a potential scoring opportunity.

The two injured Bison combined for more than 40 goals this season.

"I think the real issue was we were missing our two leading scorers," Kowalczyk said. "They weren't able to play and we struggled. That's a lot of scoring to lose."

Fortunately for Slippery Rock, it did have its two top scorers and they were in synch Wednesday.

Zarichnak, who came in with 27 goals this season, applied pressure the entire night, as did Craig. The duo showed off their passing skills as well.

"They know where each other is going to be," Buzard said. "It's fun to watch. Sometimes I feel like I am just standing there, watching on the sidelines."

The win was particularly satisfying for Buzard, who took over the team just a few weeks before the start of the season and relied heavily on his seniors.

Slippery Rock will play Harbor Creek, which beat North East 8-1 Wednesday night, in the District 10 championship game at a site and time to be determined on Saturday.

No matter what happens against Harbor Creek, the Rockets have already secured a spot in the state playoffs, which begin Tuesday.

That was the Rockets' goal heading into the season after suffering three first-round defeats in the last three seasons.

"Three years of losing here was terrible," Walter said. "It was the worst thing ever. We wanted to win worse than anything. Tonight, we played great."

Villa Maria 4, Grove City 0

- After a 16-0-2 regular season, the Grove City High School girls soccer team got a cruel dose of reality in a District 10, Class AA semifinal loss to Villa Maria.

But Eagles coach Ernie DeSue said things could have been much different.

"We score first, we win," DeSue said.

Grove City (16-1-2) had several opportunities to crack the scoreboard early, but misfired.

That opened the door for the Victors (20-3), who scored two goals in the 10-minute span midway through the first half to take command of the game.

Whitney Putnam scored the first goal and Kara Esser, who had several near missed earlier in the contest, broke through 10 minutes later.

Putnam made it 3-0 just over one minute into the second half and Abbey Fuhrman closed the scoring with 23 seconds left in the match.

Grove City was out-shot 21-9 in the contest.

Junior goalkeeper Emma Stapleton played well, stopping eight shots.

The loss was at least temporarily devastating for a team that posted the best record in District 10.

"It will be gone as soon as we have dinner," DeSue said. "That's just how these girls are. They are sad and disappointed now, as they were after our two losses, but by the time I get on the bus, they will forget about it."