Coming off of a hotly contested double overtime win over Hanover in the semi-finals of the Capital District field hockey tournament, Lee-Davis locked horns with Atlee in heated battle for the title. 

  Atlee, high off a season without defeat in the district, finally fell to Lee-Davis 2-1. 

  Having lost to the Raiders twice in the season already, the Confederates knew what they were up against and came with their game faces on laying it all out on the field.  “We’ve lost twice to Atlee, which is really what brought the fire from us,” said C-fed freshman center back Amy Wingfield.

  Wingfield, who was moved up to the varsity squad shortly before the end of the regular season, was the player who first put the C-feds on the board. “It was the first goal I’ve ever had playing varsity in a district game,” she said. “It was amazing.  I think we played tonight more as a team, because we knew what the prize was, we knew what we had to encounter.  It was payback time.”

  It was the potential in talent that caused C-Fed head coach Courtney Jones to include Winfield in her lineup. “I saw a little bit of it toward the end of the season,” Jones said. “I wasn’t sure.  She’s a freshman.  Her level of confidence has been wishy-washy.  Not because it should be; just because she’s a young player.  We talked to her before the game.  We told her what we knew she could do…that we believed in her.  And she proved the reason why I pulled her up five games into the season.”

  Senior Haley Matthews, scored the final goal for the C-feds but she too praised Winfield’s play. “Amy scored amazing,” Matthews said. “I was impressed myself.  She did a great job.  And we all hung off really good.  I got an assist and just touched it, to knock it in.  I was praying I was going to hit.  Cause it’s pretty much a hit or miss. 

  “We played really together tonight,” Matthews said.  “We’ve had our problems earlier this season, and we just dropped them all and were able to put it together and come out with a win.” 

  Matthews’ wide range of skills allowed Jones to detour from the norm in the championship game.  “We changed things up today,” Jones said.  “We put Haley on our forward line.  She’s basically been one of our versatile players for four years.  She’s actually been in Amy’s position before tonight.  We decided to change it up today to see what would happen and it worked.”

  Unlike their semi-final 4-0 game against Henrico, where Atlee offense dominated, keeping the ball virtually in Warrior territory throughout the game, Atlee worked much harder to develop a lasting series of passes and plays on the Lee-Davis side before players like Wingfield or Matthews would swat the ball long into the Raider backfield to put Atlee back on defense. 

  “I’m happy with the way we played,” said Atlee head coach Alyssa Farling. “I think we dominated the game; but their defense gets credit.  I mean they were quick.  They had good defense; their goalie had some really good saves.

  “Playing quick to the ball [was our strategy],” Farling said. “When we play Lee-Davis it’s a pretty evenly matched game skill-wise, so it ends up being a mental game.  Everybody comes out ready to play.  We’re excited.  Capital District has definitely come a long way.”

  Coming up with 13 saves on the evening, as well as the winning save in the tie-breaker match the night before was senior keeper Sara Clare, who stayed focused like a laser beam to save her team time and time again from beautifully executed offensive Raider plays. 

  “Sara Clare is one of my babies,” Jones said.  “She stepped up like no other.  She’s focused and every game, win or loss, she takes a lesson and the next day at practice, she focuses on whatever mistakes were made and doesn’t want to make them again.  One of the things that she learned playing Atlee twice is that she was scored on by them in one-on-one situations.  There were several of them tonight.  She was successful in all of them.  That was her goal and she accomplished it.”

  Defending a goal against forwards like Atlee’s Jaimee Mackay, Shannon Fulk, Caitlin Murphey, Lizzie Leitch and mid-fielder Laura Beckler (who scored the evening’s only goal for Atlee) was no accident. 

  “I was just really, really excited the whole time,” Clare said, “I’m just focusing on the game being over, but not getting too cocky; and making sure everyone stays marked-up during the game; no one’s in any breakaways.  Concentrating on that trophy.”

  After being swept by Atlee during the regular season, the C-feds had a clear-cut strategy for the championship game. “We came out here; and our whole goal was to have fun,” Jones said.  “We knew that our post-season was going to continue because we were second seeded and we won (Wed.) night, so Regionals was already in the forecast.  We decided we were going to take the stress off ourselves. 

  “The girls went out; they had fun,” Jones added. “The first five minutes we exploded and that’s the way we need to play in order to get our game going.  When we start games like that, my confidence goes up because I know that they’re ready.  And they continued.  In the second half, they got a little flat at times, but they pulled together.  Our slogan: ‘Play like a team; Win like a team’ has been with us since last season and I think it showed tonight, that we did it.”