Perhaps all of the pieces for the Baldwinsville boys lacrosse team are starting to fit into their proper places just when they need to be there.
The Bees’ last appearance before the Section III Class A playoffs proved to be a great one, with the defense in top form and the offense patient and productive in the clutch, all of which translated to a 7-4 victory over Cicero-North Syracuse last Tuesday at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium.
Once the owners of a seven-game win streak in April, C-NS had gone 5-3 since. After waiting 24 hours for the weather to calm down, the Northstars still had to deal with high winds and B’ville’s natural-grass surface, something it had rarely played on this season.
That slowed the Northstars down, and so did a tough Bees defense that wasn’t fazed by having senior goalie Sean Coe in the net instead of its normal starter, Riley Smith.
During a low-scoring first half, C-NS was stymied, and B’ville fought to a 3-2 edge at the break. The slow play continued in the third period, and even as the Northstars tied it, 3-3, B’ville conserved its energy.
The more patient Bees got rewarded when, led by Charlie Bertrand (three goals, one assist) and Connor Smith (two goals, one assist) it outscored C-NS 4-1 in the fourth quarter. Ryan Gebhardt and Jake Anderson added single goals, with Peter Fiorini III gaining a pair of assists.
Coe continually made big stops, finishing with 12 saves, one more than Northstars counterpart Zach Sheridan. Only Nate Scarlata, with two goals, and Zach Debottis and Ryan Waldron, with one goal apiece, put shots past Coe.
This fast finish helped B’ville earn the no. 3 seed in the sectional Class A bracket, and it hosts no. 6 seed Syracuse in Wednesday’s opening round, with the winner to face no. 2 seed Auburn or no. 7 seed Rome Free Academy in Saturday’s semifinal at Cicero-North Syracuse’s Bragman Stadium. The title game is May 27 at the Carrier Dome.
