In its second tough game in three days, the Baldwinsville girls lacrosse team nearly got caught.
On the wet turf at Cicero-North Syracuse’s Bragman Stadium, the Bees were in the same position as in its April 1 win over Fayetteville-Manlius, only to squander a four-goal lead late in regulation before recovering in overtime to beat the Northstars 14-12.
Just as in the F-M game, the Bees fell behind, 3-1, only to recover quickly amid a drenching rainstorm.
Sparked by goals from back-line players Katie VandeValk and Meagan Rowe, B’ville reclaimed the lead, twice saw CNS tie it, then used Fabian’s tally late in the half to take a 6-5 lead to the break.
B’ville’s defense blanked CNS for more than 19 minutes, but could not build the lead beyond four goals, so even though the Bees were up 11-7 with less than four minutes left, it was still vulnerable to a possible rally if the Northstars started to win the draws.
And that’s exactly what happened. Ashley Waldron’s goal with 3:16 left began the rally. Then, in a span of 34 seconds, Rachel Geruso twice converted, the latter coming with 1:15 to play, and suddenly it was 11-10.
Again, CNS won the draw — and again, it converted, Tori Praino putting home the tying goal with 44.9 seconds left in regulation. Reeling, the Bees nearly lost it at the end of regulation, as it took Casey Chiesa making a point-blank stop on Praino with 22 seconds left to keep it 11-11.
So they went to overtime, a pair of three-minute sessions. As the winds picked up, the two teams exchanged goals in the first OT before Quincey Spagnoletti twice converted in the last 20 seconds of that period, putting the Bees up 14-12.
Through the second OT, B’ville would cling to that edge. For the night, Spagnoletti had four goals and one assist, with Jen Fabian and Kara Moschetti each getting three-goal hat tricks.
Mackenzie Kjerstad and Sarah Clark scored, too. Praino (five goals) and Waldron (four goals, one assist) led the CNS push, but Chiesa made 10 saves.
Weather put into issue the Bees’ schedule this week — home games against Liverpool and two-time defending state Class A champion West Genesee. The combination of rain, wind and cold temperatures already wiped out last Saturday’s B’ville boys lacrosse opener against Cicero-North Syracuse.
Still, it was an active time for B’ville’s lacrosse alumni. Greg Gibbons tied a Clarkson University school record (set in 1980 by Rich Hewitt) with eight goals in a recent 12-9 victory over Rochester Institute of Technology. Two other B’ville alums, Mitch Collins and Mike Perkins, are also on the Clarkson roster.
