SLIPPERY ROCK — Three matches into the season, the Slippery Rock High boys soccer team was winless.

Panic? No way.

There was a method to the early season madness of playing staunch opponents like Cathedral Prep and Fairview on long road trips and General McLane at home — a double overtime loss.

It was all to prepare the Rockets for the rigors that would await them more than a month later.

And, so far, it has worked.

Since that start, Slippery Rock has won 13 consecutive matches, including a come-from-behind 3-2 victory on another long road trip Thursday night to Bradford.

In that win, the Rockets trailed 2-0 with a little more than seven minutes remaining, but got a pair of goals from Ryan Davey and the winner by Ian Balquist with 2:18 on the second-half clock.

“Starting off 0-3 was rough,” said senior midfielder Ian Balquist. “It was a challenge for us to get our heads back up.”

The challenge was accepted.

And met with aplomb.

The Rockets have won those 13 matches by a combined score of 61-12 and locked up the Region 5 title with a win over Bradford.

“We talked about (the 0-3 start),” said Slippery Rock coach Kyle Hopkins. “We've been in that situation before, so it was nothing new to us.”

The key to Slippery Rock's run has been its depth all over the pitch.

Hopkins can go 18-19 players deep depending on the situation, which allows him to rotate players in an out to keep them fresh and to take advantage of matchups.

It's a luxury few coaches have.

“We've had guys step up that don't always show up in the stats,” Hopkins said. “It's huge for a coach to have so much depth.”

Ryan Davey has keyed the offense, leading the team with nearly 20 goals and nine assists.

But he's far from the only dangerous weapon.

Riley Lewis, Jack Allen, Liam Gallagher, Kurtis Baxa, Tyler Christy, Ryan Hinchberger, Alex Duffalo, James Gallagher, Nathaniel Willison and Balquist have all found the net multiple times.

Even defender Zach Caldwell has scored a goal this season.

That has made it more difficult for the opposition to just focus on Davey.

“There's been definitely times when we've had to change our formations and add a couple of more on offense,” Davey said. “It was a big adjustment. Sometimes it's hard to score. Teams have man-marked me with three or four guys.”

Davey still has found a way to get it done.

And so has Slippery Rock, which also has been helped by goalkeeper Duncan McCoy, who has given up just 12 goals this season.

“It's from guys playing together for years,” Hopkins said of the Rockets' success. “We have 14 seniors giving us leadership.”

The expectations are high in Slippery Rock.

The Rockets have made the playoffs for five consecutive seasons and reached the District 10 semifinals three years in a row, but lost.

This year, the Rockets would like to get over that hump.

“We come in every year with a goal to win the region,” Hopkins said. “Then to get to the finals. If we can get to the finals, anything can happen.”