While it helped that it had a couple of more games to draw upon, the Fayetteville-Manlius field hockey team still found it plenty challenging in last Monday’s neighborhood clash with East Syracuse Minoa,

Much of the game was played on the Spartans’ end, yet the Hornets had to be content with a single scoring play and let that be the basis for a 1-0 victory.

This was an instance where ESM’s defense was under constant siege. From the flow of play to penalty corners, F-M continually probed and continually got turned back.

When her extraordinary effort was done, Spartans goalie Maura Leib had 23 saves. All that Leib allowed was a goal by the Hornets’ Nora Wilson, assisted by Maddy Duggleby.

Now F-M would go to Baldwinsville on Thursday night, and the game would go beyond regulation, ultimately ending for the Hornets in a 2-1 defeat to the Bees.

F-M got the jump when Duggleby put in a first-half goal and, throughout the game, the Hornets continued to have opportunities to add to that total.

Yet B’ville goalie Cara Vredenburg stopped 17 of F-M’s 18 shots, her efforts rewarded when Emma Dugan scored in the second hafl and, in the seven-on-seven OT session, Isabella Nadzan netted the game-winner, each of the goals assisted by Rebecca Mantione.

That same night, ESM visited Liverpool, where the Spartans endured its own 2-1 loss to a Warriors side which had lost each of its first three games of the season.

But it was Liverpool that proved the aggressor most of the way, camping out for long stretches in the Spartans’ end and forcing Leib to make 14 saves.

As Leib kept it close, Laura Grabowski scored in the second half. It wasn’t enough, though, as the Warriors got goals from Gianna Carbone and Julia Barbour, each of them assisted by Chloe Muller.

When ESM took its turn against undefeated Cicero-North Syracuse on Saturday afternoon, it managed to accomplish what no other Northstars foe had done yet, though it came in a 4-1 defeat.

Down 1-0 in the first quarter, ESM pulled even with Rileigh White’s goal, breaking a C-NS shutout streak that had spanned more than 300 minutes over those first five games.

Yet the Northstars were back in front by quarter’s end, extended the margin to 3-1 by halftime and kept on going despite 23 saves from Leib. Allison Cole, Gabby Wameling, Shannon Brown and Gia DiToma had C-NS’s goals.