In very similar manners, each of the Baldwinsville lacrosse teams would get the best of their neighbors from Liverpool during a pair of Thursday-night clashes.
At LHS Stadium, the boys Bees began to take over in the second quarter and, throughout the game’s middle stages, shut down the Warriors as it went on to prevail 14-4. In the girls’ game at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium, B’ville actually trailed Liverpool, but made up for it with a near-perfect second half that buried the Warriors and led to a 17-8 victory.
As if the B’ville boys needed further motivation, it came when the first state Class A rankings of the season were released and the Bees were at no. 14, trailing both Fayetteville-Manlius (at no. 8) and West Genesee (at no. 10) among Section III entrants.
Liverpool didn’t care about any of this, and played B’ville to a 3-3 first-quarter draw. But all that the Warriors could produce from there was a single tally in the third period against a stingy Bees defense anchored by goalie Frank Delia, who had 10 saves.
Ryan Gebhardt, by himself, outscored Liverpool by netting five goals, plus an assist. Pete Fiorini and Tanner McCaffrey each scored twice, Fiorini adding two assists as Cole Peters, Justin Hunter and Brandon Mimas each had one goal and one assist. Spencer Wirtheim got two assists as Noah Ravas and Cameron Slink had single goals. Mike Tangredi tacked on an assist.
The girls game between B’ville and Liverpool also featured close early play and an eventual getaway from the side in red.
In the first 25 minutes, the Warriors kept up with the Bees and even sneaked into a 7-6 lead. Yet once the second half started, Liverpool went quiet and B’ville, controlling the draws, eventually wore the Warriors’ defense down. The end result was an 11-1 Bees spurt that turned an exciting game into a lopsided one.
Sara Goodwin and Hannah Johnson were at the forefront, Goodwin pouring in six goals and adding an assist as Johnson finished with five goals. Peyton Fleming fed both of them with four assists to go with her lone tally as Maria Henwood and Julia Pelcher each scored twice. Lili Foote added a goal. Henwood and Katie Pascale earned single assists.
On Saturday, B’ville hosted Section II power Shenendehowa, and battled to an 11-9 victory over the Plainsmen. Unlike with Liverpool, the Bees got that lead early, pushing to a 7-4 halftime edge, and then answered every time Shen tried to get close in the late going.
Goodwin had a part in most of B’ville’s scoring plays, augmenting her three-goal hat trick with four assists. Johnson and Henwood also scored three times as Pascale and Monica Lannier earned single goals and Fleming finished with three assists.
Having improved to 4-2 overall, B’ville would host undefeated Fayetteville-Manlius on Tuesday after the Hornets last week beat West Genesee for the first time in 11 years. Then, on Wednesday, the Bees hit the road for a two-game trip that includes games against Cleveland Heights (Ohio) and South Laurel (Kentucky).
Back home, the B’ville boys team faces its own big week, from a sectional finals rematch with F-M on Tuesday to Thursday’s clash with visiting Syracuse before a Saturday game at Webster Thomas in suburban Rochester.
