Having finally taken a blemish in the weather-shortened 2-2 draw with Fayetteville-Manlius on Oct.1 at Swan Pond, the Baldwinsville boys soccer team saw its state Class AA ranking slip a bit, down to no. 7.
Still, no one has defeated the Bees, and West Genesee, who made things uncomfortable for them earlier this season did not do so as much in last Monday’s rematch at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium, B’ville defeating the Wildcats 2-0.
Back on Sept. 16 in Camillus, the Bees needed a goal late in regulation to pull out a 1-0 decision. Here, B’ville did not wait, twice burning WG for goals in the first half as Steve Foertch and Evan Smith converted, assists going to Malik Davis and Tyler Johnson.
The rest was handled by B’ville’s superb defense, who after giving up early goals to F-M resumed its strong form, severely limiting the Wildcats’ scoring opportunities.
Still at home Thursday night, the Bees faced Liverpool, and after a brief scare from the Warriors, it took over late in the first half and proceeded to earn a 4-1 victory over the Warriors.
The first meeting Sept. 19 at LHS Stadium ended in a 3-0 shutout, and B’ville scored first here, too, only to have Liverpool pull back even thanks to Jack Pento’s goal.
All that seemed to do, though, was kick the Bees into another gear as, again, its depth proved too much for an opponent to handle. Two quick goals had B’ville in front 3-1 by halftime, and it never let Liverpool respond.
Smith went to the forefront, twice scoring. Nathan Palmer and Marcus Ayotte also earned goals, with Johnson gaining two assists and single assists going to Davis and Chase Hornsey
Only a Tuesday-night match against visiting Henninger and a Thursday trip to Corcoran separates the 13-0-1 Bees from the possibility of completing an undefeated regular season and notching the top seed for the Section III Class AA playoffs.
