A quarter-century of frustration and near-misses ended for the Baldwinsville boys lacrosse team when it knocked off twin powerhouses Fayetteville-Manlius and West Genesee to snare the Section III Class A championship in 2017.
Now, what happens next?
The Bees are unaccustomed to the role of defending sectional champions, and saw several key players, including goalie Frank Delia, attacker Ryan Gebhardt, midfielder Matt Dickman and defender Kyle Pelcher graduate.
However, plenty of talent is back for B’ville head coach Matt Wilcox to count on, from front-line stars Peter Fiorini, Cole Peters and Spencer Wirtheim to defensive standouts Ben Dwyer and David Steria.
Together, they set out for their opening assignment last Thursday night, facing Cazenovia at Christakos Field on the campus of Cazenovia College. There, a strong first half powered the Bees past the Lakers 12-7.
Cazenovia had a surprising coaching change following the 2017 season. Jim Longo, who led the Lakers to four state finals and two state championships, was not asked to return, and long-time assistant Dave Falge replaced him.
Far more settled, B’ville would take advantage of this throughout the first two periods, limiting Cazenovia to a single goal while gaining its own rhythm, especially in a second quarter where it scored five times to establish a 7-1 margin
Fiorini and Peters both finished with three-goal hat tricks. Adam Davis and Brandon Mimas had two goals apiece, with Austin Bolton and Mike Tangredi also finding the net. J.J. Johnson, in his first start in goal, recorded eight saves.
Another road test awaited B’ville on Saturday as it visited Auburn, but a near-perfect start allowed the Bees to control matters and produce a 21-9 victory over the Maroons.
Controlling the face-offs and then converting at will, B’ville didn’t let up in the first quarter until it had built an 8-0 advantage. Auburn didn’t get on the board until the second period, and even when it did, the Bees kept answering.
Up 13-5 at halftime, B’ville pulled further away as Spencer Wirtheim proved unstoppable, netting six goals and adding a pair of assists, with Bolton adding three goals and two assists.
Tangredi and Brendan Wilcox both found the net twice, with Peters, Mimas, Cameron Slink, Justin Hunter, Noah Ravas, Connor Steria, Tanner McCaffrey and Tom Thibault also finding the goal-scoring column. Slink, Hunter and Mimas had one assist apiece.
Mostly, the Bees will rest this week, but will get a big test in Saturday’s home opener at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium when it faces Pittsford, whom it lost to in last year’ state Class A semifinals.
