By roaring out to a 4-0 start, the Baldwinsville girls lacrosse team clearly established itself as one of the top sides in Central New York, but what it did next offered further proof of that lofty status.
The Bees hosted 2-0 Fayetteville-Manlius last Tuesday night at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium, and withstood a rough start to take control on several fronts and eventually defeat the Hornets 11-10.
F-M jumped all over the Bees in the cold, windy conditions, taking a 4-1 lead before the game was five minutes old and requiring the Bees to use a time-out.
After that, B’ville started controlling the draws and, with that increased possession time, blanked the Hornets for more than 14 minutes as it put in four unanswered goals for its first lead of the night.
By halftime, the Bees led 7-5, only to have F-M quickly tie it and even inch in front, 9-8, but the lead lasted less than a minute before Emma Gebhardt hit her second goal to make it 9-9.
They stayed that way, the Bees’ defense blanking F-M for 15 minutes, before Hannah Johnson’s goal with 9:44 left gave B’ville the lead for good.
But B’ville still needed Jenna Pastore to convert a few minutes later, because Annie Steigerwald cut the margin to one with 1:20 left. The Bees’ Katie Pascale won the ensuing draw, and her teammates were able to run out the remaining clock.
Johnson, Gebhardt, Pastore and Emma States led a balanced Bees attack with two goals apiece. Olivia Muscolino and Sophia Cavallaro joined Pascale with single goals, and each of Jordan Roy’s seven saves proved important.
B’ville went for six in a row Saturday at Irondequoit, and had no difficulty remaining undefeated, defeating the Eagles 14-4 with a steady effort that produced a 7-1 halftime margin and more success afterward.
Gebhardt finished with four goals, Muscolino adding two goals and three assists. Pastore also scored twice, getting a pair of assists as States and Cavallaro matched that two-goal output. Pascale and Johnson each had one goal and one assist, Sarah Klein also earning an assist.
Now sitting at 6-0, B’ville richly earned the enjoyment of its school-break trip to Tennessee, which includes a pair of games early this week against Franklin and Ensworth, schools located near Nashville, with the local season resuming April 23 against West Genesee.
