EDINBORO — The brisk air and driving snow weren’t nearly as cold to the Slippery Rock boys soccer team as the result of Saturday afternoon’s District 10 Class AA championship game.

Warren’s Tristan Boger scored early in the second half and the Dragons held on for a 1-0 victory over the Rockets at Edinboro University’s Sox Harrison Stadium.

With only the district champion advancing to the state playoffs, Slippery Rock’s loss ends its season with a record of 14-6.

“We knew coming in that it was going to be a challenge,” said Rockets’ coach Kyle Hopkins. “Warren is physical and they’re a tough team.”

Boger’s goal came after his teammates had cleared the ball following a Slippery Rock throw-in at the other end of the field.

He created enough separation from the Rockets’ defense and beat Slippery Rock goalkeeper Jason Bluedorn in the 49th minute.

The Rockets did not go quietly after falling behind. They had four corner kicks in the final 27 minutes.

They barely missed a goal in the 68th minute when a free kick from 30 yards led to a header that crossed the goal face from left to right. Nate Popejoy’s slide to get to the ball was a split second too late and the sequence led to a goal kick for the Dragons (15-5).

Another painfully close attempt came in the first half when Rockets’ senior midfielder Josh Jones let a shot go to the left of Warren’s net. Goalkeeper Clark Eason leapt into the air and, fully extended, snagged the ball with both hands.

“We were against the wind in the first half,” said Hopkins. “If it hadn’t been as strong, maybe that shot stays in the air enough to be a goal and that could’ve changed the game.”

Eason made eight saves after playing very aggressively. He spent much of the game well outside the goal box.

“We follow the German style of play with our goalkeeper,” said Warren coach Thomas Harrington. “It means he plays a very high line and is basically a sweeper/goalkeeper.”

The Dragons lost to Harbor Creek in last year’s district title game.

“After that game, the guys said, ‘We’ll get it next year,’” Harrington said. “Winning this game was our goal.”

Bluedorn made five saves for the Rockets, who started the season 2-2 before winning 11 of their final 14 regular season games.

“We worked on some things early on and the team came together this year,” said Hopkins. “This loss hurts now, but even when we were down today, the guys finished. I’m proud of them.”