No one could pretend that the Baldwinsville girls lacrosse team’s regular-season finale last Wednesday against Section V power Brighton was just another match.
This would be the last time that Doug Rowe would prowl the home sidelines as the Bees’ head coach, and since he had announced his intentions before the 2016 campaign got underway, it gave dozens of his former players time to formulate plans to return and pay tribute.
So they did, more than 50 of them, spreading the full gamut of Rowe’s 25-year tenure at B’ville, from those that helped build the program to members of the 2000 state championship team to those that, most recently, made it to the 2014 state Class A final.
They all wanted to stay thank you to Rowe – but they also wanted to see B’ville win, and it did so, having to hang on late to beat Brighton 9-8 and gain a bit of momentum going into the Section III Class A playoffs.
During an inspired first half, the Bees excelled in all phases of the game, from winning draws to playing hard-nosed defense to patiently working its attack and creating scoring opportunities, all of them fundamental traits of Rowe’s teams through his quarter-century run.
This gave B’ville a 5-1 halftime lead, but Brighton nearly spoiled the occasion, unleashing its attack during the second half and eating away at the Bees’ margin before the hosts were able to hang on, Madeline Curtis making seven crucial saves.
Sara Goodwin, with three goals, and Glory Johnson, who scored twice, accounted for a good portion of B’ville’s attack. Julia Pelcher and Lindsay Guild each had one goal and one assist, while Alex Leo had the other goal. Anna Mazurkiewicz had two assists and Maria Henwood contributed one assist.
Rowe is not done, though, as the no. 5 seed Bees face no. 4 seed Fayetteville-Manlius next Tuesday at 5 p.m. in the opening round of the sectional playoffs, with the winner having to face top seed and state no. 1-ranked CBA in next Thursday’s semifinal at East Syracuse Minoa Stadium. The final is at the Carrier Dome May 31 at 4 p.m.
