Consistent defense, combined with one timely scoring play, were enough to lift the Baldwinsville field hockey team past East Syracuse-Minoa 1-0 last Monday night for the first win of the 2012 season.

For the most part, the Bees and Spartans played on even terms, each side getting a fair amount of chances but not taking advantage of them – with one exception.

During the first half, amid a scramble in front of the ESM cage, Kayla Dubiel, getting a pass from Paige McKenna, poked the ball past Spartans goalie Rachel Aird. That proved enough as, throughout the second half, B’ville made stop after stop, and veteran goalie Lindsay Farrell stayed cool, finishing with nine saves, one less than Aird.

So began a busy week for the Bees as, on Wednesday, it returned home to face Auburn, doubling its production and remaining stingy on the defensive end in a 2-0 shutout of the Maroons.

McKenna was the focal point of the attack, scoring one goal and assisting on the other, by Cailey Constance. Serena Capsello assisted on McKenna’s tally, and the Bees’ defense clamped down all afternoon, holding the Maroons to just two shots.

All of this led to Saturday’s clash with defending Class A champion Liverpool, who had started 0-2 before getting its own 2-0 win at Rome Free Academy the same night that B’ville was beating Auburn.

While the Bees did fare better, in terms of overall play, the Warriors still prevailed 2-1, inching into a 1-0 halftime lead and matching Constance’s goal in the second half.

Farrell had a spectacular effort in the net, her 18 saves keeping B’ville within range. Still, goals by Shelby Peck and Emily Burns pulled Liverpool through, leaving the Bees at 2-2 going into a stretch of three straight road games, three of them this week at Weedsport, Fayetteville-Manlius and Marathon.