As was the case in recent years, Fayetteville-Manlius will play host to two Sundays worth of Section III field hockey playoff games, including the finals on Oct. 28.
For the F-M squad, the aim is to get to play at home that last Sunday of October, and getting there will require a sectional playoff win.
Before all this, though, F-M had a massive game to close the regular season on Thursday night as it hosted Baldwinsville, winner of the last two sectional titles. And it ended in a 0-0 tie.
If that sounds familiar, well, it is. These same teams had played each other Sept. 13 at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium and had the exact same result, neither the Hornets nor Bees able to get on the board.
A month later, the storyline did not change. There was only a handful of genuine opportunities on both sides, though the game ebbed and flowed in terms of which team was more threatening.
During the 60 minutes of regulation, F-M probed far more and got open looks, though each of its 15 shots were turned away by B’ville goalie Hailey Boda.
When it reached overtime, though, the Hornets only had one fast break, and twice had to defend penalty corners, a more difficult task when it’s seven-on-seven time. However, F-M’s defense was up to that task, making the crucial late stops.
East Syracuse Minoa will go after its third sectional Class B title to match the ones it earned in 2012 and 2013, doing so after playing twice against Cortland in the last week of the regular season.
In the first meeting Wednesday night at Cortland, the Spartans lost, 2-0, to the Purple Tigers, who jumped out in front in the first half as Lauren Kline and Rachel Swartz each got a goal and assisted on each other’s scoring plays.
From there, ESM did keep Cortland quiet, Maura Leib and Lucy Hager combining for six saves, but the Spartans were held to just four shots, all stopped by Morgan Zimmer.
They met again Friday night at Spartan Stadium, and it ended in a 1-1 tie with an exciting conclusion.
Lauren Swartz’s first-half goal had the Purple Tigers in front, and it stayed 1-0 until the waning moments of regulation. With 24 seconds left, Grace Stone put in the tying goal, and neither side could win it in OT. Hager stopped nine of 10 shots she faced.
And there will be a third encounter on Oct. 22 when ESM and Cortland meet at Spartan Stadium in the sectional Class B semifinals, and a day later F-M, the no. 2 seed in Class A, has a third encounter with Baldwinsville, and someone has to win there.
