by Ben Dejarnette
Atlee Student Correspondent
The Atlee boys soccer team claimed its spot in the Capital District championship game with an emphatic 3-0 win over Hanover in the tournament semifinal Tuesday night.
After a goalless first half, the Raiders sprung to life with two goals by
Jordan Boothe and another by
Ian Shelton.
“It’s always just nerves in the first half and everyone’s flying around a hundred miles an hour,” Atlee coach
Steve Thompson said. "[I] talked to them a little at halftime and just told them to settle things down and pick your spots and they did. They picked three great opportunities and finished them.”
The story of the first half was great goalkeeping, as both Atlee's
Mike McCabe and Hanover's
Alex Moore kept the opposition off the scoreboard.
Both teams were able to slip behind the defense on several occasions, but squandered chances in front of the net.
The second half was all Atlee, however, as the Raiders used their speed to create shot after shot on the Hanover net.
Just over a minute after the break,
Ryan Boothe crossed the ball to his brother Jordan, who coolly slotted the ball home into the bottom right corner.
Atlee kept pushing forward with the lead and momentum on their side, forcing several strong saves from Moore.
After several close misses, Shelton finally found the back of the net with a 69th-minute goal.
Sebastian Morrison played a perfect pass behind the defender on the left flank, leaving Shelton to use his blazing speed to beat the defender and slot home the goal.
“I just got a great through ball from Sebastian Morrison and it’s easy from there. Just one touch and slotted it into the far post,” Shelton said.
Boothe capped the scoring eight minutes later with a breakaway from midfield, again beating Moore with a shot to the right corner.
The DigitalSports No. 9 Raiders will now face No. 8 Lee-Davis in the Capital District final. Though Atlee is 0-2 against the Confederates this season, it was Shelton a year ago who scored a game-winning goal in sudden-death overtime to knock off Lee-Davis for the district crown.
“We know we can compete with these guys,” Jordan Boothe said. “Both times [this season] they beat us by one goal...We’re looking to shut them up early, so hopefully we can do that.”
Atlee 0 3 – 3Hanover 0 0 – 0A: J. Boothe 2, Shelton 1
Saves: McCabe (A) 6; Moore (H) 8
Records: Atlee (8-3 Capital, 9-3-2) Hanover (7-3 Capital 9-5-1)
