ONONDAGA COUNTY – What the Fayetteville-Manlius field hockey team is discovering is that it is on competitive terms with the other major Class A contenders, but lacks a singnature win.
Seeking this at home last Monday night, the Hornets faced Baldwinsville and, despite tremendous defense, still fell 1-0 to the Bees.
The two league rivals played through a scoreless first half, with reasonable opportunities on both ends and neither side able to fully control the flow of play.
However, in the third quarter B’ville inched in front thanks to Ellie Holtman’s goal, and though Emma Dobrovech stopped everything else and finished with six saves, F-M was unable to equalize.
At 3-2 (with one-goal defeats to B’ville and Cicero-North Syracuse), now, the Hornets quickly got back to winning form two nights later, handling Auburn 2-0 by scoring both of its goals in the second quarter.
East Syracuse Minoa conitnued to struggle to find goals, shut out 2-0 by Homer last Monday night. Maya Boots stopped 14 of 16 shots, but Mallory Kline scored twice to help the Trojans prevail.
And now the Spartans welcomed two Class A opponents, inlcuding B’ville, who would arrive on Friday night after Liverpool came to Spartan Stadium on Wednesday.
Coming off its first defeat of the season to Cicero-North Syracuse, the Warriors scored all of its goals in the first half and beat ESM 4-0, those goals coming from four different players – Mia Berthoff, Sophia Puccia, Cailtyn Guilfoil and Jane Razza. Maya Boots finished with five saves.
Then, when the Spartans had its own match with B’ville on Friday, it lost 3-0 to the Bees, Boots getting six saves and keeping everything out until the second half, when goals by Holtman, Kate Rinn and Olivia Harkola decided it.
ESM will host F-M Wednesday night, two days before the Hornets travel to Clinton.
