It was the most unlikely of situations for two of the Capital District’s perennial soccer powerhouses. The Atlee and Lee-Davis boys soccer teams were back on the field Thursday slugging it out for yet another district tournament title to be determined between the two. But that was where any sense of normalcy ended.

  In any typical season, the pair entered the tournament as the top two seeds with both moving on to regional play. But this year, Hanover claimed the top slot and the automatic regional berth. Therefore, for the first time, the C-fed vs Raider matchup meant one team was going home with their season ended a the conclusion of the championship game.

  The odds on favorite was #2 Atlee sporting a 10-4-3 record. On the other hand, Lee-Davis struggled through a long loss-filled season to enter tournament play with only five wins as the #4 seed.

  But the decisive underdogs scored twice in the final 10 minutes of play to pull off one of the biggest upsets in Capital District soccer with a 2-1 win.

  “It was a frustrating season. It was a long season,” said Lee-Davis senior keeper CJ Stevens. “It’s definitely very gratifying. It was a good tournament and we’re proud to be on top.”

  Senior mid Blake Thompson agreed. “After a season of being 4-9-2, a lot of people counting us out and us being swept by Atlee, Hanover and Henrico during the regular season, it felt good to stick it to them and get the win.”

  It was a battle for both teams to even reach the championship contest. Atlee escaped a two-overtime match with #3 seed Henrico while Lee-Davis out-dueled top-seeded Hanover in a three-overtime semifinal barn-burner.

  With Hanover’s elimination and only one regional berth remaining to be claimed by the championship winner, there appeared to be some sense of hesitation between the pair in the first half of play. Missing was the all-out abandonment that contests between Lee-Davis and Atlee are known for.

  “I think that kind of put us both at- ‘We’ve got to be cautious because there’s a lot to lose’,” said Atlee head coach Steve Thompson. “So, maybe that’s why we went at it more like a season type game instead of a championship type.”

  The two teams entered the half in a scoreless tie. Coming out of the break it appeared a sense of urgency began to surface.

  In the 43rd minute of play, Atlee senior Hunter Boroughs sent a diagonal header past Lee-Davis’ Stevens to put the Raiders on the board.

  Atlee was on the verge of adding to their lead 10 minutes later only to have a goal repealed on an off-sides penalty.

  Less than a minute passed before Atlee was on the attack again. Boroughs drove in along the left end line and set up to deliver a drive into the net. Stevens dove on the ball to save the goal but drew the brunt of Boroughs kick stopping play for nearly three minutes before he was able to climb back to his feet.

  Despite the injury, Stevens, who finished with 11 saves, remained in the game to make two more big saves down the stretch.

  Several times throughout the game, Lee-Davis failed to complete their attack by having open drives waved away on off-sides penalties.

  Then with 10 minutes remaining, Lee-Davis head coach Ed Kidder took one of his biggest gambles.  The Confederates were awarded a free kick just across the center stripe and Kidder elected to have Stevens come out of goal and cross the center line to put the ball in play.

  “Out of our defensive end, he has the best service anyway, plus it gives you an extra man,” Kidder pointed out the positives.

  However, having Stevens on Atlee’s end of the field meant there was not a hands-man back if the kick went awry.

  “We do that when we’re losing,” Kidder said. “In a game like tonight, it doesn’t matter if you lose 2-0 or 1-0, you lost. So, it’s a little risky.”

  Stevens delivered the kick on target to a spot 10 meters out from goal where senior teammate JP Hudnall put it in the net to tie the game 1-1.

  Lee-Davis looked as if they would take the lead in the final three minutes of play when Chris Kunca broke away from Tyler Roszkowski in the corner with only the ball and Raider keeper Dimitris Killinger (7 saves) between him and the goal. But Roszkowski appeared to grab and pull the back of Kunca’s jersey and the C-fed junior went down but no call was made.

  It appeared the two teams were on a collision course for their sixth combined overtime as the scored remained 1-1 heading into the final minute of play.

  But Confederate Blake Thompson found himself in a hero or goat moment.

  Senior mid Travis Cook set up Thompson with the ball ahead of the Atlee defense to give him a nerve-raking one-on-one attack against Killinger.

  “I thought I was off-sides at first but I wasn’t so I kept going,” Thompson said. “I thought I was going to miss I was so nervous.”

  Thompson faked to the left then sent a right-footed shot toward the post beyond the reach of a diving Killinger. The ball caromed off the right post and into the net for the winning score.

  For Thompson it was a moment of redemption after a frustrating season. “We had a lot of younger kids this year,” he said. “We had a rough beginning. I think it was just that we didn’t know how to win yet, but towards midseason we starting putting passes together, we were able to start finishing a learn how to win. I think that’s a crucial part of soccer. You’ve got to learn how to win.”

  The Lee-Davis victory nullified spectacular efforts from Atlee’s Boroughs, senior defender Shawyn Griffin and sophomore defender Chandler Crescentini.

  For Kidder, the Confederates’ game plan was simple. “With us coming in with the record we had, we were in a position where we were going to come in, play hard and enjoy the night.”

  With the improbable district championship, Kidder can claim mission accomplished. “It’s pretty enjoyable,” he said. “We’re going to the big dance.”

Lee-Davis…......................... 0 2 — 2
Atlee…................................. 0 1 — 1
LD: J.P. Hudnall, Blake Thompson
A: Hunter Burroughs
Saves: C.J. Stevens (LD) 11; Dimitris Killinger (A) 7
Records: Lee-Davis 7-9-2; Atlee 10-5-3

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