Once the shock of what West Genesee had done to them in the first half of that May 2 showdown wore off, the Baldiwnsville girls lacrosse team still had to face a stretch of four games in six days that would determine what kind of frame of mind it would have going into the Section III playoffs.
And the key game would come Thursday night, when it went down Route 31 to Bragman Stadium to face Cicero-North Syracuse and put up one of its best efforts of the season, even though it lost a 17-14 decision to the Northstars.
When these two teams had first met April 8 at Onondaga Community College, C-NS, no. 4 in the latest state Class A rankings, pulled away in the second half and prevailed 13-6. At the very least, B’ville wanted the rematch to be a bit closer.
But it didn’t start that way. The Northstars got a goal just 11 seconds into the game and, controlling the draws and attacking at will, dashed to an 8-1 lead before the game reached the 15-minute mark.
Bent on avoiding another West Genesee-type blowout, B’ville started fighting back, as Taylor Gebhardt scored twice and Alex Leo also scored to cut the gap to 8-4 before the Northstars scored in the last seconds of the half to take a 9-4 edge to the break.
What the Bees did in the second half was even more encouraging. Every time C-NS tried to get away, B’ville would put together a scoring spurt, not letting deficits of 14-7 or 16-10 prevent it from battling to try and catch up.
As a result, Gebhardt put up five goals, with Leo, Marjorie Dehm, Andrea Walker and Glory Johnson each scoring twice and Jaclyn Hingre adding a goal.
C-NS would hang on, though, with stars Meghan Duffy and Tiffany Ryan setting the pace with four goals apiece as they combined for five assists, too. Samantha Tortora and Courtney Kenny added their own three-goal hat tricks.
Before that, though, there were back-to-back games early in the week, with B’ville letting out its West Genesee frustrations on Central Square last Monday in an 18-4 rout.
In fact, the Bees nearly matched the 15-0 Wildcat blitz, leading the Red Hawks 13-1 by halftime as Gebhardt poured in seven goals and added a pair of assists.
Anna Mazurkiewicz chimed in with three goals and one assist, while Walker and Natalie Kaufman each scored twice. Leo had a goal and two assists, with Julia Goodwin, Meghan Ward and Stephanie Roberts adding single goals. Ward and Hingre contributed assists.
Just 24 hours later, B’ville hosted Liverpool and, for a while, appeared to be in real trouble – but with Gebhardt leading the way, the Bees took over in the latter stages and put away the Warriors by a score of 11-5.
A patient attack, along with stellar defense, helped Liverpool seize a 4-2 lead by halftime. But once B’ville started winning draws in the second half, everything changes as the tempo increased and the Bees, with its depth, wore the Warriors down.
Gebhardt led the comeback, pouring in four goals and adding two assists. Johnson and Kylee Scott both scored twice, with Pastore, Ward and Erin Nagle netting single goals. Natalie Parkins scored three of Liverpool’s five goals.
The C-NS defeat was a setback – but it seemed to have a lingering effect, for when the Bees visited Fayetteville-Manlius on Saturday, its defense was overwhelmed, leading to a 17-8 loss to the Hornets.
During a wild first half, B’ville could not stop anything F-M threw at them. Thus, despite some solid production, it trailed, 11-6, at the break, and the fatigue of playing four tough games in six days hit the Bees in the late going as the Hornets pulled away.
Only Dehm and Hingre scored twice, with Gebhardt held to a single assist. Walker had a goal and three assists, with Johnson, Scott and Hailey Couchman earning the other goals. F-M’s Mary Trop led her side with six goals, while Jane Cote added four goals.
The Bees still have to face Section IV power Brighton on Tuesday night, the last regular-season home game for B’ville’s seniors, before the Section III Class A playoffs get underway next week.
