Recent Section III Class AA boys soccer history has a lot of red painted on it.
Baldwinsville has won or shared six of the last seven sectional championships, a remarkable run that includes just one defeat in 19 sectional contests.
As a result, head coach Tim Scheemaker has seen a stream of talented players make their way to the college ranks. More roster turnover followed the 2013 Bees’ title run, with the likes of Braden Miles, Jake Gentile, Sam Mahar, Connor Lunduski and Ryan Mulligan departing through graduation.
Even though B’ville has plenty of talent still on hand, it got a real wake-up call during its traditional season-opening trip to the Clarence Tournament in suburban Buffalo.
Once there, the Bees ran into Buffalo powerhouse St. Joseph’s and lost, 3-0, to the Marauders, who scored twice in the first half to seize control. Nick Lindovski finished with two saves.
Pushed into Saturday’s consolation game against Nichols Academy (alma mater of college basketball great Christian Laettner), the Bees rebounded in a big way, whipping Nichols 5-1.
The game was close for a while, but after B’ville inched to a 1-0 halftime lead, it got clear with an all-out assault in the second half that tore Nichols’ defenses apart.
At the helm of that attack, Jerome Goodridge and Connor Ross each scored twice, with Jason Ekure earning the other goal. Nick Gates, Erik Ferrari and Evan Ingersoll each got one assist.
One tournament was not enough, so B’ville went through another one on the first weekend of September in nearby Liverpool, and it didn’t prove easy.
Friday’s steamy battle with Henninger ended with the Bees edging the Black Knights 1-0, a game that saw both sides maintain a slow pace through a first half that saw constant breaks to make sure everyone stayed hydrated.
Once they got to the second half, nothing was settled, but B’ville finally got on the board when Ingersoll earned an unassisted goal. The Bees put nothing else past Henninger goali Prem Siwahoti, who had eight saves, but the defense again stood out, holding the Black Knights to four shots, all of them scooped by Nick Lindovski
Amid much cooler conditions on Saturday afternoon, B’ville faced Jamesville-DeWitt, who was trying to give long-time head coach Joe Roach his 400th career win after the Red Rams lost, 4-0, to Liverpool the previous night.
That J-D quest came up short, but B’ville couldn’t take advantage of its own defensive prowess, and the game ended in a 0-0 draw. Lindovski, with five saves, and the Bees’ defense shut down all of the Rams’ passing lanes, but it didn’t lead to any production on the other end as Red Rams netminder D.J. Newman made six saves.
