Ever since it fell 1-0 in overtime to Cicero-North Syracuse on Sept. 3, the Baldwinsville field hockey team has started to round into traditional form, mixing in a potent attack with consistent defense.
All of this was on full display in last Monday night’s match at Liverpool, where the Bees got a hat trick from Rebecca Mantione on the way to defeating the Warriors 4-1.
Now coached by one of its all-time greats, Molly Brown, Liverpool would settle into the game, but only after a first half where B’ville burned them by notching three unanswered goals.
Mantione, by game’s end, had converted three times, with the other goal going to Sarah Dusse. Emily Salanger put the Warriors on the board in the second half, but B’ville out-shot them 17-3 overall.
In what’s become a late-summer tradition, B’ville hosted its annual Huntington Classic at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium on Aug. 29 and 30.
The opening-round game had B’ville against New Hartford, and it never proved close, the Bees taking 23 shots overall and, after scoring twice in the first half, pulling further away late to beat the Spartans 6-0.
Brushingham scored twice, with Dusse also getting two goals. Mantione and Emma Dugan had the other goals as Mia Kusdzal, Leah Tuch and Victoria Schultz earned assists.
B’ville now faced Clinton in the championship game, but lost1-0, Gianna Trufino’s goal proving the difference-maker. Sarah Smiley finished with four saves.
Then came the loss to C-NS, which B’ville recovered from by defeating Cortland 2-0 later that week. Mantione and Tuch put in the goals, with assists credited to Brushingham and Kendall Carni.
After defeating Liverpool, B’ville traveled east Wednesday to face Rome Free Academy and, led by Brushingham, beat the Black Knights by the same 4-1 margin as it did with the Warriors.
Up 2-1 at halftime, the Bees wore down RFA’s defense as Brushingham was unstoppable, putting in three goals to earn the hat trick and then assisting on a goal by Mantione. Busy in the net, Sara Smiley stopped six of the seven shots she faced.
This busy opening stretch continued Friday at Cazenovia, with the Bees playing on a natural grass field at Burton Street Elementary and managing quite well at the start, then hanging on to defeat the Lakers 2-1.
During a productive first half, Dugan and Tuch both produced goals, with Brushingham earning an assist. Then, down 2-0, Cazenovia cut the margin to one with Ava Hartley’s second-half goal, but with Smiley recording four saves, the Bees turned back all of the Lakers’ attempts to force overtime.
B’ville has a key early-season test Monday night when undefeated Fayetteville-Manlius visits. Then the Bees rest until Saturday, when it plays at Vestal (Section IV) at 3 p.m.
