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The road to the final was set in motion a handful of years ago.

Well before talk of the latest incarnation of a Canadian pro soccer league.

And well before the notion of Cavalry FC riding onto the Calgary sports scene.

It was back then when Tommy Wheeldon Jr. was helping to spearhead a successful footy program with Foothills FC — one that would eventually reign supreme in the Professional Development League.

The bulk of that 2018 championship team now makes up the top squad in the Canadian Premier League.

“For sure, we had that winning mentality from being together at Foothills,” said Cavalry star goalkeeper Marco Carducci. “A lot of people giving us credit are going back to that PDL team and that core group, and I think, rightly so.

“You saw the chemistry and the team bonding that we already had, and I think that put us ahead of other teams in CPL.”

With Carducci and the Cavs set to take on Forge FC in the inaugural two-game, total-goal CPL final beginning Saturday in Hamilton (2 p.m., CBC), there’s little doubt the crew from Calgary has been a step — or two — ahead of the competition ever since the git-go of the new league.