Perhaps the Baldwinsville girls soccer team will deliver more important goals in the days and weeks ahead while making a run for Section III Class AA honors.
None, though, might match the drama and timing of the one Graisa Madden delivered at the end of regulation in Thursday night’s 1-0 victory over West Genesee at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium.
Having dropped to no. 20 in the state AA rankings following its Sept. 26 loss to Liverpool, B’ville rested for much of the first week of October, but saw the Warriors, no. 13 in those same state rankings, lose 4-3 to Fayetteville-Manlius last Tuesday.
So with a chance to catch Liverpool atop the Salt City Athletic Conference Metro division standings, the Bees welcomed West Genesee, whom it had beaten 3-1 in Camillus a month earlier.
The Wildcats proved tougher in the rematch, especially on the defensive side. Though rarely able to put the ball out of its own end, WG protected its own net with a strong group of defenders and great work from goalie Liz Croft, who would finish with 15 saves.
As the last seconds of the second half wound down, B’ville wanted to avoid overtime, so it kept attacking. Katie Pascale got the ball and, from the side, passed it to Madden, who fired a shot that eluded Croft and crashed into the net just as the clock hit zero.
With that, the Bees improved to 12-2 overall and 5-1 in SCAC Metro, the same mark as Liverpool. This meant that, if B’ville could get past Cicero-North Syracuse next Thursday, the league title would likely be at stake Oct. 14 at Pelcher-Arcaro when the Bees and Warriors met in the regular-season finale.
