One thing that the Baldwinsville girls lacrosse team has already found out is that it can stand up quite well to any well-skilled opponent, at least from a perspective of scoring goals.
What remains to get worked on is the defense, which was under assault throughout last Thursday night’s game against Fayetteville-Manlius at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium, where the Bees could not quite keep up in a 16-13 defeat to the Hornets.
F-M arrived in B’ville sporting a 4-0 record, the Hornets having netted a total of 72 goals in those victories as it tried to build upon last season’s run to the state Class B championship game.
Meanwhile, the Bees were trying to rebound from a narrow April 6 loss to Rush-Henrietta, and showed, in the first half, that it had every intention to run right with F-M.
With a well-balanced attack and plenty of precision, B’ville nearly matched the Hornets, only trailing 9-8 at the break. And while its pace did not wear off, the Bees did see the Hornets get away a bit as Amanda Cramer and Kiera Shanley each scored five times, Cramer adding three assists.
No one on B’ville’s roster could match that total, but Katie Pascale, Peyton Fleming and Emma States notched three-goal hat tricks, Fleming adding an assist as Sara Goodwin got two goals and two assists. Maria Henwood and Hannah Johnson also found the net. Goalie Molly Merryweather recorded seven saves.
Corning, from Section IV, would visit B’ville on Saturday afternoon, providing another important test, but this time the Bees finished on top, outscoring the Hawks 12-10.
B’ville got the early jump, and by the time they reached intermission, it had an 8-5 lead. Then it kept answering with timely goals any time Corning tried to catch up.
Fleming led the charge, scoring four times. The trio of Goodwin, Pascale and States each gained two goals as Johnson and Henwood also found the net. Merryweather and Jordan Roy shared net duties and made six saves between them.
After playing Liverpool on Monday, on Wednesday night, another big game looms, with the Bees visiting West Genesee before hosting Section II power Shenendehowa on Saturday afternoon.
