Another regular season has ended for the Baldwinsville girls soccer team, with the biggest tests still ahead as it defends the Section III Class AA title it won a year ago.
And due to an unexpected turn of events on the weekend, the Bees (14-1-1) again will operate as the top seed.
On Saturday, Liverpool, expected to have that no. 1 seed, took a 2-1 loss at home to Cicero-North Syracuse. That dipped the Warriors’ CNY Counties League record below that of B’ville.
As a result, the Bees now have the top seed, and will await a quarterfinal late this week against no. 8 seed Rome Free Academy or no. 9 seed Oswego. Win there, and B’ville could meet CNS in the semifinals, should the no. 5 seed Northstars navigate past no. 4 seed CBA on Friday night.
Prior to all this, B’ville added to its win total, starting last Tuesday against Rome Free Academy, where it turned Angelica Romeu and Jackie Firenze loose in a 6-1 victory over the Black Knights.
All through the contest, RFA could only watch as, time and again, Romeu took well-timed passes from Firenze and converted. Overall, Romeu posted four goals, while Firenze picked up four assists. Help came from Taryn Guinta and Lily VanDeValk, each of whom also scored.
It all led to Saturday’s regular-season finale, against Fayetteville-Manlius, the second time the two 2010 sectional finalists had met this fall.
At home on this occasion, B’ville blanked F-M 2-0, taking twice as many shots as the Hornets and watching Emma Firenze convert once in each half, which proved enough.
VanDeValk earned an assist as B’ville’s defense, led again by Emma Jeffrey, Sarah Lindovski and Morgan Marshall, took away the Hornets’ speed and Maggie Monnat made seven saves.
