CENTRAL NEW YORK – Once again, the Fayetteville-Manlius field hockey team chose a home tournament as an appropriate osccasion to set out on the 2022 season.
The F-M Field Hockey Classic on Sept. 2, welcomed, among others, neighboring East Syracuse Minoa, along with Cortland and Section IV powerhouse Whitney Point, winner of six of the last seven state Class C championships.
F-M began with Cortland and had little trouble with the Purple Tigers, prevailing 7-0 as the duo of Natalie Rameas and Ella Herber proved unstoppable throughout the night.
Rameas, a junior, set a career mark with four goals, adding an assist, while Herber chimed in with her own three-goal hat trick and assist. Sarah Porter and Carine Smith also picked up assists.
ESM, on the other hand, had to deal with Whitney Point and got overwhelmed in a 13-0 defeat, Whitney Point notching five goals in both the first and third quarters as Mollie Comstock had to make 24 saves.
Completely turning this around a day later, ESM beat Cortland 4-2 in the consolation game, preceding a final where F-M found out first-hand just how strong Whitney Point remains.
The Hornets lost by a 7-1 margin, with the lone goal coming from Audrey Burke as she converted off a feed from Porter. Kaleigh Hamilton was able to make eight saves.
From here, F-M had its first important test last Wednesday when it faced Cicero-North Syracuse at Bragman Stadium. It was close for a long while, but the Hornets saw the Northstars get away and prevail 5-1.
All through the first three periods, F-M’s defense remained consistent, and Porter’s goal meant that the two sides were tied 1-1 going into he fourth quarter.
Down the stretch, though it was all Northstars, who netted four unanswered goals as Chrissy Wagner, who scored twice, led the way, overcoming a fine effort from Hamilton, who got 10 saves.
As that went on, ESM lost, 2-0, to Clinton, who attacked from start to finish. Comstock kept it close, earning 19 saves, only giving up single goals to the Warriors’ Josephine Rioux and Gracen Grimm.
F-M played again on Friday against reigning sectional Class C champion Canastota in the opening round of the Whitesboro Tournament.
The Hornets lost, 2-0, to the Raiders, who saw Chloe Curtis net one goal and assist on the other, by Brooke Roberts. The Hornets took seven shots, but Canastota goalie Alyssa Bonneau stoped all of them.
Rebounding on Saturday, F-M hammered host Whitesboro 8-1 in the consolation game, taking a 3-1 lead by halftime and pulling even further away in the late going.
Herber and Smith both finished with three-goal hat tricks. Porter and Carlye Bryant had the other goals, with Rameas also earning an assist.
ESM took on Homer that same day and, moving to 2-2 on the season, blanked the Trojans 7-0, peaking with a three-goal second period and scoring twice more in the third quarter and taking 24 shots overall.
