As the Lee-Davis boys soccer team took the field for the Capital District championship on Thursday night at Hanover, their thoughts went back to year’s past.

  In 2009, the C-feds came into the title game as the #1 seed and favorite to win the tournament only to be upset by Atlee.

  In 2008, Lee-Davis looked to be in good position to win only to be thwarted by a late game Atlee goal.

  Therefore facing the Raiders for the third time in the same situation, the C-feds were determined not to let the outcome be the same.

  Lee-Davis head coach Ed Kidder said he did not have to remind his players of last year to get them fired up. “They still remember that game,” he said. “We didn’t have to point it out. They remember how they felt leaving the field.”

  “We were thinking about it in the back of our heads,” said Lee-Davis senior captain Caleb Lewis. “They’ve beaten us twice the last two years and we came out here a lot more aggressive, ready to play, ready to take home the district tournament.”

  And in a typically aggressive game between the two schools, the third time appeared to be the charm for the C-feds as their strong defense repeatedly repelled Atlee attacks and allowed Lee-Davis to take the win 4-0.

  Senior captain Antonio DeOliveira struck early for the C-feds, scoring in the sixth minute of play off a feed from Alec Walton. DeOliveira took the assist and threaded the needle, slipping a shot into the corner past diving Atlee keeper Mike McCabe.

  “My man Alec, he played a really good ball in,” DeOliveira said. “I was able to sneak in behind a defender and got a nice touch on it.”

  The Confederates added to their tally in the 22nd minute when junior Blake Thompson connected on a diagonal from 20 yards out.

  But it was the Lee-Davis defense that was the stars of the game. DeOliveira and Lewis shut down the center allowing their teammates to continually repel the Atlee attack.

  “Atlee usually likes playing through the center when they go forward and I think that was one of the key things,” Kidder said. “Those guys did a good job.”

  Atlee head coach Steven Thompson agreed: “They did a good job of closing things down, making it real tight through the midfield,” he said. “(They) didn’t give us much room to play.

  “On the flip side, we had some gaps in the back that they exploited,” Thompson added. “They came out with a lot of energy. We came out a little flat.”

  When Atlee got past the Lee-Davis backs, it was junior keeper CJ Stevens performing cleanup duty, coming away with five saves.

  DeOliveira widened the margin to 3-0 soon into the second half and Lewis created the final margin on a goal worthy of a championship game-capper.

  In the 63rd minute of play, Lewis got the kind of breakout soccer players dream of; one-on-one with the keeper 15 yards from the goal, in what Kidder described as; Caleb just doing his thing.

  “I made a run outside and Travis (Cook), the center mid, he hit me a ball through,” Lewis said. “I knew I was one on one with Mike (McCabe) and I like dribbling around.”

  But Lewis knew getting the ball past a first team keeper the caliber of McCabe,  (12 saves), was going to be no easy task.

  “He had a good chance of getting to it, I thought he would, but I got past him luckily,” Lewis said.

  From there on there was nothing but the ball and turf between Lewis and the goal. “It’s a good rush because you know all you have to do is pass it in the goal and that’s what I like about doing it,” Lewis said.

  Ironically, Lee-Davis found itself lucky to reach this year’s title game after getting a scare from #4 seed Henrico in the semis. The Warriors forced a 1-1 tie at the end of regulation and overtime putting the two teams in a shootout.

  It was Lee-Davis’ Dominique Smith who scored in the fifth round of the shootout to give the C-feds the edge. Then C.J. Stevens saved the final two Henrico penalty kicks to seal the win.

  “He’s been doing that all season,” Kidder said of Stevens. “I’m glad he’s a junior.”

  Between surviving the close call and pitching a shutout, Lewis believes his C-feds are well prepared to enter regional play. “I think it boosted our confidence because we pulled a shutout in the district tournament and that’s important to everybody,” he said. “If we go into regionals like we did tonight I think we have a good chance of winning. We’ve just got to keep strong.”

  Both teams advance to regional play with Lee-Davis hosting Mills Godwin on Tuesday. The Eagles handily defeated the C-feds in the first game of the season. “We’re looking forward to playing them again,” Kidder said.

  Atlee will play at Cosby in the first round.

Atlee .....................................0 0 — 0
Lee-Davis….......................... 2 2 — 4
Goals: Deolivera 2, Lewis, Thompson
Saves: McCabe (A) 12; C.J. Stevens (L-D) 5 saves
Records: Atlee 10-6-2; Lee-Davis 15-1-2