As it reached the midway point of its league slate, the Baldwinsville boys lacrosse team had to deal with it first bit of adversity.
Having started 7-0 and risen as high as no. 4 in the state Class A rankings, the Bees lost, 13-10, to Class C power Homer on April 21 and fell to no. 8 in the state poll.
Still, B’ville was atop the Salt City Athletic Conference Metro division thanks to its tough April 17 win at West Genesee, and stayed that way on Tuesday by taking apart Liverpool in a 16-4 romp at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium.
Liverpool had its own 7-1 record and no. 15 state ranking, and when it blanked the Bees over the game’s first six minutes, it had the feel of another close battle between neighbors and rivals.
Then, in a span of 11 seconds, Pete Fiorini and Spencer Wirtheim hit on back-to-back goals. Then Fiorini and Tangredi scored 32 seconds apart a couple off minutes later. Liverpool never recovered.
Up 5-1 through one period, the Bees kept up the pressure. Ben Dwyer, David Steria, David Fuller and the rest of the B’ville defenders forced a string of Liverpool turnovers and shutting them out through the second quarter and most of the third period.
Meanwhile, the Bees’ attack continued to hum. Even with attacker Brendan Wilcox out, Justin Hunter stepped in and earned two goals, plus a pair of assists, as the lead grew to 14-2 by the fourth quarter.
Only Wirtheim scored three times for B’ville’s well-balanced attack. Tangredi, Connor Steria and Brandon Mimas matched Hunter’s two-goal output as Cole Peters, Austin Bolton and Garrett Petrelli had one goal apiece.
But the Bees could not enjoy this too much because, on Thursday, it would face the same Fayetteville-Manlius side it needed a fourth-quarter comeback to beat two weeks earlier, and this time on the Hornets’ home turf.
And the rematch proved just as tense, the issue in doubt right up until the final minute, but again B’ville prevailed, this time by a score of 11-9.
Neither side gained any sort of margin during a hard-fought first half. F-M rallied to tie it, 5-5, going into the break, and it stayed that way through most of the third quarter, too, the Hornets getting more shots, but often stymied by J.J. Johnson, who finished with 16 saves.
And even when it looked like B’ville was taking control, building a 10-7 lead midway through the final period, F-M rallied again, using goals by Tommy Farry and Chris Lubrino to pull within one with more than five minutes to play.
A long Hornets possession followed as it patiently looked for a tying goal. But a big strip by Steria forced a turnover, and the Bees were able to work down the clock until Wirtheim hit the clinching goal with 49.3 seconds left.
Tangredi was the only B’ville player to score three times. Peters and Bolton had two goals apiece, with Wirtheim getting two assists as Fiorini had one goal and one assist. Dwyer earned a rare goal, with Adam Davis also converting.
All of this is building up to B’ville’s showdown with West Genesee this Thursday at 7 p.m. at Pelcher-Arcaro. Each of the last two times they met, the Bees won by a single goal – the 2017 sectional final and the 8-7 clash in the snow on April 17. Whoever wins this edition is the likely regular-season league champion and Section III Class A playoffs top seed.
