For two years now, the Cicero-North Syracuse field hockey had seen its ambitions for a Section III Class A championship thwarted by Baldwinsville, and was bent on changing that equation.
While not fully doing so (only a playoff win can do that), the Northstars made a big statement last Tuesday night when it went to Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium and flattened the Bees 3-0.
Every C-NS player had remembered how B’ville had not just defeated them in the 2017 Section III final, but how, on Sept. 10, it came back late in regulation from a 1-0 deficit and ultimately beat them again 2-1 in OT.
Now, with the Bees coming off a 5-1 loss to reigning state Class C champion Whitney Point on Sept. 29, the Northstars sensed even more vulnerability and went right after it.
Twice in the first half, C-NS converted, and try as it could, B’ville could not answer, the margin growing larger in the second half.
The three Northstars’ goals came from three different players – Jamie Wagner, Jamie Snyder and Allison Bartlett, with assists going to Katie Thies and Vanessa Wilkins.
Buoyed by this effort, C-NS on Thursday night hosted East Syracuse Minoa, whom it handled 5-0 just 10 days earlier at Spartan Stadium. This one wasn’t as lopsided, but the Northstars still blanked the Spartans 2-0.
Patiently, C-NS waited through a scoreless first half and kept making charges. It paid off when Thies and Bartlett netted goals in the second half, overcoming the work of ESM goalie Maura Lieb, who had 13 saves.
Liverpool had tried all season to get a win similar to what C-NS accomplished at Baldwinsville, but when it faced Fayetteville-Manlius last Wednesday it again struggled in a 3-0 defeat to the Hornets.
Trying to turn around a 2-0 defeat to this same F-M side at LHS Stadium a week earlier, the Warriors found itself again under attack, and Abbie Bragan did her best to turn them away, earning 10 saves.
However, F-M did convert three times, with three different players (Libbie Kilpatrick, Susan Bansbach and Sarah Beeler) earning those goals, Bansbach and Lucy Fowler adding assists. The Warriors were held to just one direct shot.
Home on Friday to face Cortland, the Warriors, on Senior Night, put it all together and earned a tough 1-0 win over the Purple Tigers.
It was Ava Canterino earning the game’s lone goal, with an assist to Jillian Chibert. Together, Liverpool’s defense was so effective that it held Cortland to just three shots, all stopped by Bragan.
This effort made Saturday’s 7-0 defeat to reigning sectional Class C champion Holland Patent a bit easier to take. Led by Hannah Corrigan’s three-goal hat trick and three assists from Madeline Acevedo, the Golden Knights built a 5-0 margin by halftime. Bragan finished with nine saves.
C-NS and Liverpool meet each other again Tuesday at Bragman Stadium before the Northstars take on Holland Patent and Rome Free Academy.
