For the second time in four weeks, the Fayetteville-Manlius and East Syracuse Minoa field hockey teams delivered quite a battle.
Having gone to overtime in the Aug. 30 finals of the Hornets’ season-opening tournament, their rematch last Friday at Spartan Stadium also would require more than 60 minutes to complete, though here no one ended up winning.
The 1-1 draw had the same back-and-forth tension of the first meeting. Midway through the first half, ESM went out in front thanks to a goal by Jillian McGinley, assisted by Angelina Dodge.
That lead lasted all of 30 seconds as F-M immediately countered and Stephanie Drapas, at the heart of so many key plays for the Hornets in recent games, did it again, her pass setting up Lucy Fowler for the tying goal.
A lot of time remained, but for the rest of the half, plus 30 minutes of the second half and 10 minutes of seven-on-seven OT play, neither side could break the tie. ESM had more chances, but F-M goalie Claire Grenis managed seven saves.
Earlier in the week, Drapas delivered just when F-M needed it.
With the undefeated Hornets pushed into overtime by Baldwinsville last Monday night at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium, it was Drapas again delivering the difference-making shot to help F-M edge the Bees in another 2-1 battle
Entering the night with a five-game win streak, the Hornets were facing a B’ville side that had won three in a row.
One difference between them was that, against defending sectional champion Cicero-North Syracuse, both had played close games, but F-M had won Sept. 11 on a last-second goal by Drapas a week after the Bees lost to the Northstars in OT.
And it was close here, too, with Drapas putting F-M on the board in the first half, only to have B’ville counter with Emma Brushingham’s second-half goal.
For most of the game, the Hornets found itself defending B’ville, but it did an effective job and, even when the Bees had shots, Grenis turned them away, finishing with eight saves.
As has happened so often in league games this month, it went to seven-on-seven OT. The open space was what F-M needed as Drapas found an opening and delivered the game-winning shot past Bees goalie Sarah Smiley.
Contrasting this, ESM had tuned up by hosting Whitesboro last Wednesday and unloading on the Warriors in an 8-0 romp, scoring five of those goals in the first half and continuing to add to that total late.
Mary Searle was at the forefront, earning the first three-goal hat trick of her varsity career. Dodge and Grace Stone each had one goal and one assist, with Helaina Scolaro, Olivia Grabowski and Maggie Saunders also scoring. Rileigh White added an assist.
At 6-1-2 following the battle with F-M, the Spartans would visit C-NS on Wednesday after going to Cortland on Monday as F-M hosts Liverpool Wednesday and Section IV powerhouse Whitney Point on Saturday afternoon.
