It took a few games before the Baldwinsville field hockey team tested itself on a turf field, but by that point it had gained all sorts of confidence and momentum from its fast start.
First place in the CNY Counties League was at stake on Saturday afternoon when the Bees visited Fayetteville-Manlius. Both had 2-0 league marks, but when the dust (and wind) settled down, B’ville had its first blemish, suffered in a 2-1 overtime defeat to the Hornets.
Winds affected the game from start to finish, and there were few early scoring chances. B’ville took advantage of one of them, though, as Alyssa Bell flung a shot past F-M goalie Caroline Baril midway through the first half.
And it looked, for a long while, as if that 1-0 lead would stand. During the second half, the Hornets’ attack picked up, but a stingy Bees defense turned back everything.
Then, late in regulation, things got weird. Twice, the winds blew so hard that B’ville’s goal box tipped over, stopping play just as F-M was attacking.
Eventually, they got the box upright, but B’ville continued to defend, and the Hornets’ pressure paid off with 1:55 to play when Nancy Bansbach slapped a shot past Kaitlyn Gee.
During the seven-on-seven overtime period that followed, each side had chances to win it. But with just 16.6 seconds left, Bansbach, flashing open near the box, hit a shot that eluded Gee and gave F-M the victory.
Having already knocked off Liverpool and Cicero-North Syracuse in close, tense affairs, the Bees had a far easier time of it in last Tuesday’s game against Homer, unleashing its attack in a 7-0 shutout of the Trojans.
Camped out in Homer’s end throughout the game, B’ville took 27 shots. And five different players would score goals, with Serena Capsello pacing the well-balanced attack with a goal and two assists.
Amanda Strenk and Jade Earle each scored twice, with Bell matching Capsello’s two-assist effort. Hannah Wood added an assist as Mackenzie Kimball and Allison Hovey both earned goals.
The loss to F-M only offered temporary discouragement for the Bees, who returned home Monday to face Section IV power Marathon before hosting Holland Patent on Friday and getting a rematch with Liverpool Saturday night at LHS Stadium.
