For more than a decade, the Cicero-North Syracuse field hockey team has gone on a quest to add a third Section III Class A title to the two it earned in 2005 and ’06.
Yet that quest has remained futile, with defeats in four different trips to the sectional final that included Monday night’s 2-0 loss to defending champion Baldwinsville in the title match at Bragman Stadium.
There was enough reason to think that the championship drought would end here. C-NS had beaten B’ville 4-1 the last time these two teams had met in early October, doing so on the Bees’ home turf at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium.
Even more important was the home-field advantage, which came about because heavy rains forced Section III officials to postpone the game that was originally set for Fayetteville-Manlius on Sunday and move it to C-NS a day later.
Despite all that, the problem that lingered for the Northstars was that its offense, which did just enough to beat F-M 1-0 in the semifinal round a week earlier, would continue to struggle against the Bees.
And the elements didn’t help. The combination of wind and rain made it difficult for both teams to focus in the early going. By halftime, it was still 0-0, and the game was waiting for someone to seize it.
The Bees did so in two ways. First, it maintained the same strong defensive effort that had worked early, with Hannah Norton, Olivia Wachob, Megan Doyle and Emma Brushingham protecting that end, holding the Northstars to just two shots.
Meanwhile, the attack picked up, and at one point B’ville forced six straight penalty corners. Only on the sixth try did it prove successful as Mary Cate McKee swung a shot past Ally Wagner near the midway point of the second half.
Knowing that a 1-0 lead was far from safe, the Bees kept up the pressure, and with 5:30 left Amanda Strenk, who already had 30 goals on the season, took a pass from Leah Tuch and converted the clinching goal.
Wagner had six saves as the Northstars concluded a 13-5 season that included eight consecutive wins.
