Based on the first state Class AA rankings of the fall, the Baldwinsville boys soccer team, who debuted at the no. 7 spot, was several notches above Fayetteville-Manlius, who was perched at no. 17.
Of course, the truth was that both teams were undefeated, and true separation between them might not arrive until next Tuesday night’s showdown at Swan Pond, the first of two contests between the league and sectional favorites.
One contrast in the two sides was shown last Tuesday night in their varying road games. F-M had to go to overtime to get past Nottingham 1-0, while B’ville was dominant at West Genesee, not letting up until it had a 7-0 victory over the Wildcats.
By halftime, it was already 4-0, the Bees continually finishing off scoring opportunities and spreading things around, too. Brandon Mimas and Michael Allen each picked up two goals and two assists, with Griffin Seifritz also scoring twice.
Not to be left out, Sean Micho netted a goal as Vito Cusamano and Doug Taylor got one assist apiece. When it had to work, the B’ville defense kept WG out of the net, as Brandon Allen finished with 15 saves.
B’ville returned home, and its game Thursday with Nottingham would provide a good comparison point to what F-M had done against the Bulldogs. Unlike the Hornets, the Bees didn’t need more than 80 minutes to finish on top, blasting its way to a 4-0 victory, the team’s fifth shutout this fall.
At least at the outset, Nottingham honed in on containing Mimas, the Salt City Athletic Conference Metro division leader in goals with 10 (no one else has more than five), but paid for that strategy when Allen broke open and scored just 7:12 into the game.
It stayed that way until the closing minutes of the first half, when Allen again found himself with a clear shot and converted. The timing of that goal not only doubled the Bees’ advantage to 2-0 at intermission, it caused an emotional jolt from which the Bulldogs did not recover. Ben Rabe and Jack Todora both were credited with assists.
Mimas, not one to be kept quiet, took Taylor’s pass and put in his 11th goal of the season in the 57th minute, and then tacked on his 12th goal a few minutes later, this time assisted by Frankie Levanti. All the while, B’ville’s defense, led by Taylor, Levanti and Ben Kinslow, held Nottingham to one shot all game.
So the Bees take a 6-0 record to Swan Pond, one of two road games next week as B’ville also visits the Gillette Road complex to face Cicero-North Syracuse.
