According to the plans, the West Genesee girls lacrosse team would go to Baldwinsville last Tuesday, earn yet another victory over the Bees and, once again, take its top state ranking into the Section III playoffs, where more conquests awaited them.
But B’ville didn’t care much for those plans.
Dictating the game’s tempo, playing superb defense and getting terrific work in goal from freshman Julia George, the Bees stunned the Wildcats 6-5, marking the first time since 2009 that B’ville had prevailed over the reigning state Class A champions.
The Bees had played WG tough in the April 1 season opener at Fayetteville-Manlius, though that 12-7 Wildcats victory took place long before George got called up from the junior varsity ranks and took over as the Bees’ primary goalie.
Regardless of who was in the net, though, B’ville knew that, in order to topple WG, it had to win draws and, more importantly, not get into an up-and-down, fast-paced affair that the Wildcats preferred.
The first half went exactly as planned. Claiming draws, the Bees took plenty of time working in WG’s end, and after an early exchange of goals, it put home three straight tallies to race to a 4-1 lead by the 10-minute mark.
With that, the game’s tone was set, and even though the Wildcats closed the deficit to 4-2 by halftime, and pulled within 4-3 early in the second half, B’ville had the visitors out of its rhythm, and also stayed calm in the face of WG’s pressure.
Two more goals, the last one coming with four minutes left, put the Bees up a 6-3, a cushion it needed as Kyra Bednarski and Grace Osterdale both scored for WG late.
But Osterdale’s goal, her second of the game (to go with a pair of assists), came with just 4.5 seconds left, not enough time to get the ball with a chance to get even and force overtime.
All through the game, B’ville’s defenders made crucial stops, and when that didn’t work, George was tough, stopping eight of the 13 direct shots she faced. Only Osterdale, Bednarski, Lexie Meager and Mackenzie Baker managed to put shots past George.
Taylor Gebhardt paced B’ville’s modest attack, scoring a three-goal hat trick. Peyton Fleming, Alex Leo and Anna Mazurkiewicz earned one goal apiece, with Fleming and Andrea Walker contributing assists. Katherine Widrick, in defeat, finished with six saves.
Despite the loss, WG still gained the top seed in the six-team Section III Class A playoff bracket. That means it has a bye straight into the semifinals next Thursday at Chittenango – and it could be a rematch with B’ville if the Bees get past no. 5 seed Fayetteville-Manlius two days earlier. The final is set for May 26 at the Carrier Dome.
