For so many different reasons, both short-term and long-term, the Baldwinsville field hockey team had waited for what would take place last week.
The short-term part was that the Bees were, at last, playing home games following an impressive 6-0 start which had made them the prohibitive Section III Class A favorite.
Long-term, though, the satisfaction went deeper. For many years, the Bees had to play home games on a grass field that partially included the varsity baseball diamond, far from ideal for a large-school, high-caliber program.
Now, though, the new Field Turf at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium gave B’ville a fast surface to match those of most of its peers, and it wasted no time showing home fans just how different – and better – the game was on the new surface.
Cortland served as the opponent for last Monday’s home opener, and the Bees routed the Purple Tigers 12-1, notching six unanswered goals in the first half and then matching that production after intermission even though the game was well in hand.
Amanda Strenk scored three times for a hat trick, while Shylea Dukat had three assists to go with her pair of goals and Mackenzie Wodka also scored twice, adding two assists.
Chloe Lynch managed her own two-goal outing as McKenzie Carroll, Sydney Tse and Olivia Wachob joined in the fun with single goals. Lauren Brushingham had two asssits and Emma Brushingham one assist. Lauren Swartz netted Cortland’s lone goal in the second half.
Two nights later, B’ville welcomed Liverpool to Pelcher-Arcaro for a rematch of the 5-3 game the Bees won nine days earlier at LHS Stadium. And it would take a while before B’ville again asserted control and finished off a regular-season sweep of the Warriors in a 4-1 victory.
Having outscored its last pair of opponents (Homer and Cortland) by a combined 26-2, B’ville may have expected the same sort of easy passage against a Liverpool side that had lost 1-0 to Weedsport two days earlier.
If so, the Warriors quickly rendered those thoughts moot with an energetic start as the Bees’ defenders had to work hard to prevent chances and Abbie Timmins made some crucial stops. Still, B’ville couldn’t keep Liverpool from taking a 1-0 lead on Claire Gaynor’s goal midway through the first half.
Gradually, the Bees began to build pressure, leading to scoring chances and a penalty stroke that Strenk converted with 2:52 left in the half. Yet that 1-1 tie lingered into the second half, making home fans nervous – at least until Lynch, on her birthday, netted the go-ahead goal with 19:26 to play, assisted by Mackenzie Wodka.
With its speed and skill, the Bees wore Liverpool’s defenses down, Lynch returning to convert again with 8:39 left as Dukat contributed a goal less than two minutes later. Strenk got credit for a pair of assists as Timmins stopped seven of the eight shots she faced.
B’ville expected another big test on Saturday night when it met long-time Section IV power Marathon, but instead it turned into another full-on display of the Bees’ vast skill set as it roared past the Olympians 6-0.
Steady pressure again paid off, especially in a second half where a 2-0 margin tripled. Strenk and Dukat both would score twice, with Lynch and Talia Scarfino earning one goal apiece. Wodka, Wachob and Lauren Brushingham joined Strenk in the assist column.
Two nights later, B’ville met up with Fayetteville-Manlius, the first encounter between the two sides since last fall’s sectional final. Then the Bees go on the road Friday night to take on Rome Free Academy.
