WALES – It’s hard to tell how well a team is really playing early in the season.

A few early wins and a solid tie for a young Oak Hill soccer team instilled a level of confidence any fledgling team needs to succeed.

It stands to reason, then, that any young team also needs a game or two to knock a bit of reality back into the fold, lest it get overconfident.

If Monday’s matchup against perennial powerhouse Camden Hills was a true measuring stick, the Raiders are good – better than average, even – but not quite good enough.

Peter Doubleday found the back of the net three times and Rylan Cates had a pair of assists to help Camden Hills to an easier-than-it-should-have-been 6-0 win over the homestanding Raiders.

“They’re the best team we’ve played,” Oak Hill coach Joe Fletcher said, “but they’re not six goals better than us.”

Camden Hills (6-0) was less than a week removed from a tough-as-nails, 1-0 win over Lincoln Academy, and knew Oak Hill had just played rival Rockland to a 2-2 tie.

“We had to be careful,” Camden Hills coach Michael Grey said. “We knew they’d be a tough, physical team and we couldn’t back off. A team like this can shut you down.”

The Windjammers heeded their coach’s advice early, keeping all of the pressure in the Raiders’ half. Just 3:01 into the game, Henry Marchetti took a throw-in from Cates on one hop and fired a shot into the top right corner of the net to put his team on top.

Doubleday earned his first of the game in the 19th minute to give Camden Hills a 2-0 cushion, but the Raiders started to push back, earning three corner kicks to none for the Windjammers in the first half.

Doubleday put an end to those thoughts, though, with a long strike from just outside the 18-yard box in the 44th minute.

“You have to play even, every game, and you have to play hard,” Doubleday said. “It’s just wanting it.

Oak Hills was a bit shorthanded Monday, having lost starting striker Bryan Soucy to an injury and starting keeper Glenn Allen to illness, forcing Fletcher to use another starting position player, Isaiah Mills, between the pipes.

“We know where we stand, and we have a lot of work to do and a short time to prepare,” Fletcher said. “We’re going to put it behind us.”