In the dream, Doug Rowe would exit a quarter-century spent guiding the Baldwinsville girls lacrosse program by making a championship run similar to the one made in 2000 that resulted in both Section III and state Class A titles.
But the reality proved far different, as a difficult and emotional season for the Bees ended Tuesday night with an 11-6 defeat to Fayetteville-Manlius in the sectional Class A quarterfinals.
In some ways, the season had climaxed a week earlier, when B’ville had held off Brighton 9-8 in its last regular-season home game and dozens of former players returned to honor Rowe, not just for the wins, but for the impact he had made on all of their lives.
B’ville, the no. 5 seed in Class A, carried those feelings into its game with no. 4 seed F-M, trying to reverse two regular-season defeats to the Hornets. For a half, it was a close, tense affair, the Bees’ defense doing a solid job of containment and the offense producing enough t only trail, 4-3, at the break.
F-M took over in the latter stages, though, overcoming six saves by B’ville goalie Julia George as Amanda Cramer, in particular, led the Hornets’ charge, finishing the night with six goals as Mary Trop, Kiera Shanley (two goals each), Katie Shanley (three assists) and Jane Cote (one goal, two assists) helped out.
Just two B’ville players – Julia Pelcher and Anna Mazurikiewicz – scored twice. Glory Johnson, the team’s leading offensive threat all season, had just one goal, the same as Sara Goodwin, while Emma States earned an assist.
So F-M would face state no. 1-ranked Christian Brothers Academy in the sectional semifinal at Chittenango, while the Bees, so frequently a participant deep into the post-season, now faced a future where a new head coach would be part of the mix.
