To put it mildly, the Baldwinsville girls soccer team does not like to lose.
When the Bees, who started 4-0, dropped a 1-0 home decision to Fayetteville-Manlius on Sept. 9, it had to stew on it for nearly a week before returning to the field.
And when it did, B’ville, ranked no. 15 in the first state Class AA poll of the season, ran all over Cicero-North Syracuse last Tuesday night at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium, delivering one of the most lopsided results in the long series between the two sides with a 7-0 shutout.
All through the first half, the Bees delivered a relentless attack on the Northstars, and the result was a 4-0 halftime margin. Even that didn’t prove satisfactory enough, though, as B’ville tacked on three more scoring plays by night’s end.
Mackenzie Schaffner had the first three-goal hat trick of her varsity career, with Bella May twice converting. Julia Pelcher and Simone Nevel found the net, too, with Jade Gentile, Hailey Couchman and Carolyn Brussel earning assists. C-NS did get some shots, but goalies Julia George and Mackenzie Hanna combined for seven saves.
Yet this was just a prelude to a far bigger game on Friday night, B’ville hosting two-time defending Section III Class AA champion Liverpool, off to its own 4-0 start and no. 7 in the state AA rankings.
The game lived up to the hype, too, with tension and great chances on both ends all the way into overtime, where again the Bees got the big play it needed and edged the Warriors 1-0.
Had it ended without a goal, B’ville may have felt like it left something on the field. Through the 80 minutes of regulation, the Bees had more possession and more opportunities to get on the board, yet constantly got thwarted by Liverpool’s defense, led by goalie Julie Richey.
All told, Richey had 12 saves, far more than Mackenzie Hanna’s total of five saves. But B’ville kept coming and, in the second OT, matched its Sept. 5 heroics against Bethlehem by netting the game-winner, this time from Gentile as May got credit for the assist.
The Bees and Warriors will meet again Oct. 6 at LHS Stadium. In the meantime, B’ville, with its 6-1 mark, visits West Genesee on Monday before going to Auburn on Thursday and meeting Section II challenger Niskayuna next Saturday.
