A particular kind of history was within the reach of the Baldwinsville field hockey team Sunday night when it stood one victory away from a third consecutive Section III Class A championship.
Yet it was denied to the Bees by the talent and determination displayed by Cicero-North Syracuse, who struck early, made key stops at key moments, and answered when B’ville tried to come back late.
The 3-1 defeat for the Bees to the Northstars marked a frustrating end to a fascinating season where, quite often, B’ville found itself in trouble and pulled out of it.
The possibility of gaining a third straight sectional title only opened up after the Bees rallied past Fayetteville-Manlius 2-1 in overtime in last Tuesday’s sectional semifinal at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium.
In fact, both semifinal games required comebacks, since C-NS used a pair of late goals in regulation to rally past Rome Free Academy by that same 2-1 margin in the first game of the twin bill.
When B’ville took the field against F-M, it carried a knowledge of the quality of the Hornets’ defense built up through two regular-season meetings that each ended 0-0.
And they were scoreless in the first half here, too, before Lucy Fowler converted early in the second half, putting F-M in front 1-0.
From there, the Bees’ defense, led by seniors Maura Bartell, Olivia Wachob, Molly Huntington and Hannah Norton, resumed its stingy ways, keeping the Hornets from extending to that margin and proving just as tough after B’ville tied it on Kendall Carni’s goal.
From there, it was on to OT, a place B’ville knew well since five games in the regular season went beyond the regulation, two of them against the Hornets.
The seven-on-seven format favored the Bees again as it produced the game-winner from Madison Ascioti, who took a pass from Emma Brushingham and pushed the ball past F-M goalie Catherine Barr to win it.
Now, it was on to F-M’s turf for Sunday’s sectional final against C-NS, the same team it beat 2-0 in this same round a year ago. The Bees and Northstars split two regular-season meetings this fall, each winning on the road.
Right away, B’ville found itself in catch-up mode. Less than 90 seconds into the game, on C-NS’s first forward rush, a pass from the right side bounced to the point, where Jamie Snyder pushed a point-blank shot past Hailey Boda.
For the most part, the Bees were quiet until Mackenzie Wodka got free up the middle for a solo breakaway with 12:40 left in the half. Goalie Ally Wagner went out to meet Wodka and made a superb stop to keep her team in front.
Less than three minutes before halftime, the Northstars’ Allison Bartlett took the ball at midfield, drove past multiple Bees defenders, waited for Boda to drift from the net and then poked the ball past her for a spectacular goal.
Down 2-0 at the break, the Bees went all-out at the start of the second half, the constant pressure and runs taxing C-NS’s defense as it had to successfully defend six different penalty corners before, on the seventh try, Katie Tuch deflected in a shot with 13:50 left, cutting the Northstars’ margin to 2-1.
Alarmed by this, C-NS broke the pressure and, less than three minutes later, got the clinching goal. On a penalty corner, Boda made a superb save, only to have the ball rebound out to Jamie Wagner, whose shot skidded through defenders and got past Boda, too, for a clinching tally.
B’ville finished its season at 12-4-2, and 10 seniors depart, including Wodka, Boda, Ascioti, Barttell, Wachob, Huntington, Norton, Claire Vredenburg and Erika Van Slyke. Brushingham and Tuck are set to lead the returning cast in 2019.
