When any team suffers a one-sided defeat to any opponent, the reaction can be quite telling.
In the case of the Baldwinsville boys lacrosse team, what it showed by beating Corcoran 16-10 on Tuesday afternoon was that it could make a swift recovery and beat a first-class opponent – and that it had a defense, too.
All these were legitimate questions in the wake of the April 9 disaster at West Genesee that included 10 goals allowed in the first quarter alone, leading to a 20-10 defeat and a whole lot of soul-searching.
And now came Corcoran, a team that was 4-0 and beat West Genesee 13-12 in overtime three days before B’ville met up with them. With a ferocious attack led by James Cathers and Derek Eccles, the Cougars were sure to give the Bees’ beleaguered defense another rough time.
And that was the case early, as Cree Cathers scored just 13 seconds into the game, kicking off a first half that went back and forth and featured five different ties.
B’ville responded to that early goal with three straight goals – two by Billy Ward, one by Dom Darcangelo – and it took leads of 3-1 and 6-4, only to see Corcoran come back both times, in the latter instance moving ahead 7-6 late in the half.
But Ward tied it, 7-7, and after a wild sequence, Niko Manning got free and put a shot past Corcoran goalie Jon Boehm just three seconds before halftime.
That goal gave the Bees all the momentum it needed for the second half as, gradually, it pulled away behind Ward (who finished with five goals and two assists), Kyle Styer (four goals, three assists) and Darcangelo, who had three goals and three assists.
The bigger story, though, was how B’ville’s defense fared in the last two periods. Far from the passive unit that West Genesee schooled in its previous outing, the Bees’ back line was aggressive and physical, harassing Cougar attackers at every turn and only allowing three goals the entire half.
To put it in perspective, in 48 minutes the Bees allowed as much from Corcoran as it did in those nightmarish first 12 minutes in Camillus. That sort of effort might give B’ville long-term confidence for the rest of the season.
All this happened as, at the same time, B’ville’s baseball team moved to 3-0 on the season with a 7-0 shutout of Fayetteville-Manlius.
Combined, pitchers Mike St. John (five innings) and Kyle Cushman (two innings of relief) only allowed two hits as B’ville used 10 hits and two-run rallies in the first, fourth and sixth innings to win again.
B’ville then went out Saturday and beat Rome Free Academy 14-6. The Black Knights slowed things down in the first half to great success, staying even. But B’ville woke up in the third quarter, outscoring RFA 6-1 to take control.
Daracngelo had four goals, often fed by Ward, who had five assist to go with his single tally. Styer and States each had two goals and one assist, with Dave Middlemore also finding the net twice. Tom Lawrence had one goal and one assist as Kyle Koelsch and Casey Colligan also converted.
B’ville needed to get through Tuesday’s home game against Oswego before a big Friday showdown at Fayetteville-Manlius, who entered this week with a 5-0 mark, the only remaining unbeaten Section III Class A team.
