Victories in each of its first three games by comfortable margins had shown that the Baldwinsville boys soccer team was just as potent and dangerous as the side that reached the state Class AA final four a season ago.
Further proof was offered Monday night at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium, when Fayetteville-Manlius arrived and the Bees took care of them in every phase of the game on the way to a 3-0 victory.
Having struggled (by its own high standards) a season ago, F-M received a jolt when junior forward Cheech Pagano returned from three years of academy soccer.
Pagano, a junior already committed to Syracuse University, led the Hornets to two early-season victories, including a three-goal, two-assist effort in a 5-1 romp over East Syracuse Minoa on Sept. 7.
Knowing all this, B’ville set about defending Pagano, and was quite successful. Marked by the likes of Jack Branigan, Jared Kantak, Geoffrey Tse and Dylan Killian, they held Pagano to two good chances, both in the second half – one that went wide, the other stopped by a diving Andy Taylor.
And this all took place after the Bees had long established its winning margin.
Less than eight minutes into the game, Tyler Johnson, already causing lots of problems on the left side, ripped a shot that F-M goalie Chris Szidat could not handle, which allowed Brennan Walsh to swoop in and convert the rebound.
Midway through the first half, B’ville earned a free kick that Kantak dropped into traffic. Amid it, Stephen Boertch dropped a pass to Chase Hornsey, who scored to make it 2-0.
It stayed that way until the early stages of the second half. Johnson was robbed by Szidat on a hard, curving shot, but seconds later was well-positioned to take the rebound of a corner kick and head it into the net.
