It wasn’t just that the Baldwinsville boys lacrosse team claimed the CNY Counties League National division regular-season championship – it was how they earned that title which made it special.
The Bees, to finish on top, had to win two tough road games – and did just that, capping it off with a 13-10 victory over Cicero-North Syracuse Thursday night at Bragman Stadium, with first place on the line.
At just the right time, B’ville (13-3) has played some of its best lacrosse of the season. Even an early deficit at CNS wouldn’t faze them, either.
Trailing 3-1 going into the second quarter, the Bees’ offense started to warm up, bashing the Northstars on a regular basis until it had picked up a 6-6 tie going into the half.
Gradually, B’ville took over in the third quarter, aided by a defense that remained steady and began to figure out CNS’s tendencies. They forced bad shots – and Parker Ferrigan, who finished with 14 saves, displayed how much he has improved during this spring.
The Bees won despite little production outside its front line. Billy Ward had five goals and two assists, while Kyle Styer picked up four goals and one assist and Dom Darcangelo scored three times. Wes Lawrence added one goal and one assist as Evan States added an assist, too.
All this moved B’ville up to the no. 3 seed for the Section III Class A playoffs, where it will host no. 6 seed Liverpool (a team it lost to, 14-12, on May 4) in Thursday’s quarterfinal round. The winner gets West Genesee or Central Square in the semifinals next Tuesday at Cicero-North Syracuse’s Bragman Stadium, with the finals June 4 on that same CNS turf.
Meanwhile, the B’ville girls lacrosse team, who closed its regular season with a 21-9 win over CNS, gained the no. 3 seed for its Class A tournament.
With just five teams in the field, the Bees go directly into the semifinals Friday and face no. 2 seed Fayetteville-Manlius, looking to avenge an April 20 loss to the Hornets so it can advance to next Tuesday’s final at SUNY-Cortland.