Perhaps the move to an all-weather field, and all the side benefits with it, has made brought stability and confidence to the Fayetteville-Manlius field hockey team.
For when the Hornets went on the road last Monday night to face Cicero-North Syracuse, it put together a 1-0 victory over the Northstars at Bragman Stadium.
Kerry O’Connor scored in the first half, off a feed from Emma Hebert. That was one of the few times F-M could make an organized push on the CNS net.
Meanwhile, the Hornets’ defense did a superb job protecting that slim margin. Several CNS shots got turned away, and when it did reach Abby Cunningham, she made nine saves for the shutout.
F-M looked to follow that up Thursday, at Cortland, and did so by putting together a 3-0 shutout of the Purple Tigers.
Kaitlyn Gualteri earned two of those goals, while Haley Shields also found the net. Hebert, Kerry O’Connor and Kayla O’Connor got credit for assists as F-M held Cortland to one shot all day.
The Hornets were back home Saturday to face Auburn and put up even more offense in a 5-0 shutout of the Maroons.
Staying red-hot, Gualteri put up a three-goal hat trick, also assisting on one of Kerry O’Connor’s two goals. Lindsey Trachtenberg had two assists, with Kayla O’Connor also getting an assist.
East Syracuse-Minoa, meanwhile, continued its strong start, getting a key OHSL victory last Monday when it went to Weedsport and edged the Warriors 1-0.
Weedsport came into the game with a 4-0 mark and dominated much of the contest, taking more than twice as many shots as the Spartans.
However, Danielle Hobb was spectacular, stopping all 15 shots she faced. And ESM rewarded her effort when, in the second half, Kiersten Albertson slipped a shot past Weedsport goalie Gabriella Barrigar.
In Thursday’s trip to Homer, the Spartans again kept the opposition off the board, blanking the Trojans 3-0. A pair of first-half goals was all that was needed as Jill Alaimo, Amy Loder and Stephanie Edmonds each found the net. Alaimo added an assist. Danielle Hobb stopped all seven shots she faced.
ESM will get its shot at Cazenovia, the team that has dominated the Onondaga High School League for years, at home on Friday, but only after home dates with Cortland and Liverpool. F-M goes to Baldwinsville Tuesday before playing in a weekend tournament at Holland Patent.
