Now it was time for the Liverpool girls soccer team to begin its quest to reclaim the Section III Class AA championship from the Baldwinsville side that ended the Warriors’ reign a season ago.

In advance of their Tuesday-night showdown at LHS Stadium, Liverpool began the season with a Labor Day weekend road trip to the Rochester area for a pair of games, where head coach Kevin McGrane would find out how his new lineup, minus nine graduating seniors from 2015, would fare.

On Sept. 2, the Warriors defeated Aquinas 2-0, but it required overtime. Through 80 minutes of regulation, neither side could break through, with Liverpool’s defense particularly stingy, holding the Little Irish to just three shots all afternoon.

However, in the first of two 10-minute OT periods, the Warriors did get the go-ahead goal, and tacked on another as Carli Kovarik, a returning junior starter, converted one of the goals and assisted on the other, by Lynsey Roth. Bri Kovarik assisted on her sister’s tally.

A day later, Liverpool faced Our Lady of Mercy, a team Baldwinsville had beaten a week earlier.

The Warriors took an early lead, and though Mercy got on the board in the second half, Liverpool responded and pulled out a 2-1 victory. Carlin and Brianna Kovarik both would score, with Roth and Emily Wu getting credit for assists. Each of Megan Merrifield’s six assists would prove important.

Liverpool made it three wins in a row last Tuesday night at Herkimer County Community College, where it went up against long-time Section II power Bethlehem and put together a 2-0 shutout of the Eagles.

Again, stellar defense helped the Warriors as it held Bethlehem to four shots all game. While that went on, Carli and Abby Kovarik each would put in one goal, accounting for Liverpool’s production as Roth and Brianna Kovarik picked up assists.

At that same HCC venue on Saturday, Liverpool played yet another Section II foe, Guilderland, and used a big first half to beat the Lady Dutch 5-1.

During those first 40 minutes, the Warriors burned Guilderland with a five-goal surge, led by Bri Kovarik, who scored three times for a natural hat trick. Roth and Emily Dorr helped out, each with one goal and one assist, while Carli Kovarik and Brisa Salinas also earned assists.

Cicero-North Syracuse picked up its first win of the season last Tuesday in the team’s home opener at Archie Hall Stadium against Fulton. The 3-1 decision involved the Northstars getting away in the second half despite a goal by the Red Raiders’ Victoria Izyk.

Ashlyn Slate led the way for C-NS, scoring a goal and adding an assist. Other goals went to Jenna Imbesi and Marissa Bukowski, with Haley Imbesi picking up an assist. Olivia Haven, returning in goal for the Northstars, stopped all five shots she faced.

Going to a weekend tournament at the Wright National Soccer Complex in Oneonta, C-NS topped the host Oneonta side 2-1 in overtime, trading goals in the first half and staying even with the Yellowjackets until netting the game-winner in the first extra period. Slate and Bukowski earned those goals, while Morgan Siechen picked up an assist.