With more than a week separating its season-opening win March 25 at Irondequoit from its next game, the Baldwinsville girls lacrosse team had plenty of opportunity to get in extra work on all facets of the game.
Yet none of that work translated into success by the time the Bees returned to the Rochester area last Monday night to face Brighton. All game long, B’ville struggled in the face of a tough Barons defense, leading to a 10-5 defeat.
Leading most of the way, Brighton had built a 5-2 advantage by halftime. B’ville could not answer it, despite Hannah Johnson and Peyton Fleming each producing two goals and Fleming adding an assist. Sara Goodwin earned the other goal.
At 1-1 against Section V competition, the Bees faced yet another opponent from that region on Thursday night when it visited Penfield. In brutal conditions – rain, cold temperatures, wind – B’ville again couldn’t warm up its attack, falling to the Patriots 7-3.
Replicating what Brighton had done earlier in the week, Penfield took a 5-2 advantage by halftime. The Patriots protected that margin with a defense that never gave B’ville much room to maneuver as Fleming, Goodwin and Katie Pascale were the only Bees players to net goals. Madeline Czyz added an assist.
Now B’ville would try to break out of this early slump in Saturday’s game at Corning – and would do so, not just prevailing, but showing its toughness in the course of defeating the Hawks 11-10.
The dormant Bees offense sprung to life during a first half where, in gaining a 6-4 lead, it surpassed its total from the previous two full games. Then it managed to answer every Corning attack with one of its own in order to hang on late.
Goodwin was the focal point, scoring four times and adding a pair of assists, but Fleming had a big game, too, with three goals and one assist. Johnson, Maria Henwood, Julia Pelcher and Monica Lannier earned one goal apiece. Each of Julia George’s nine saves would prove important.
This win evened B’ville’s mark at 2-2 going into Tuesday’s CNY Counties League opener against Liverpool, with a Saturday visit from Shenendehowa (Section II) to follow.
