Cathedral Prep, Meadville set up a D-10 final rematch. Here's how they advanced.
Rounds 1 and 2 were close.
Round 3? Not so much.
No. 2 Cathedral Prep (7-8) welcomed a familiar opponent in No. 3 Hickory (4-13) for Wednesday’s District 10 Class 2A boys’ lacrosse semifinals. This was a Hornets team that Prep had defeated by a combined four goals in two meetings prior.
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Nate Klan and Rylan Sorge wasted little time building a lead Wednesday, however, combining to score five first-half goals before adding three more in the third quarter. Klan finished with five goals, and Sorge scored three in a 10-3 Prep victory at Dollinger Field, one which was stress-free compared to the two prior.
“We had a rough few games but we’re on a roll right now,” said Klan, a junior midfielder. “Everybody was locked in and ready and the shots were going.”
Charlie McBrier and Jameson Hertel each added a goal for Prep. Better shot selection, the Ramblers said postgame, was key to Wednesday’s offensive outburst.
“We watched our past games and saw what worked a little bit and what did not work,” said Sorge, a junior attacker. “We made those adjustments offensively, and it paid off.”
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Meadville eases past Fairview
The only hiccup during Meadville’s semifinal victory was a first-half lightning delay.
Other than that, the top-seeded Bulldogs (8-3) faced little resistance from No. 4 Fairview (1-12) during a 16-4 triumph. Gino Giliberto scored a team-high four goals while Robert Mahoney and Ben Hilson each scored three, the Bulldogs turning a 9-3 halftime lead into a commanding victory.
“We had a really good week of practice and knew what we had coming into (Wednesday),” said Mahoney, a junior attacker. “We had our matchups set, worked on a new offense and got the ball moving. We just played complete and solid all around today.”
Cody Schwab and Logan scored each scored twice for Meadville, which split two regular season meetings with Prep. The sides – each of which scored 18 a combined goals during their two prior contests – will meet May 29 for the D-10 Class 2A championship.
Prep seeks a fourth consecutive D-10 title. It beat Meadville, 13-4, in this game last year.
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“It was all about us (Wednesday),” said Prep head coach Andrew Smykowski. “We went out and executed and did all the little things we know we can do, and that we’ve seen in practices. We knew it would finally come together, and tonight was the outcome of that.”
Contact Jeff Uveino at juveino@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @realjuveino.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Cathedral Prep, Meadville boys' lacrosse to play for another D-10 title
