Now the Section III Class A playoffs are at hand, and Baldwinsville, eager to take back the sectional crown after Cicero-North Syracuse grabbed it in 2018, must find a scoring spark somewhere.
That didn’t happen in last Tuesday’s match against Section IV powerhouse Vestal. Trying everything it could, the Bees attempted to limit damage, but still saw the Golden Bears beat them 5-0.
It was a case of Vestal eventually wearing down B’ville’s defense. The score was only 1-0 at halftime before the Golden Bears got away, despite 11 total saves from Sarah Smiley and CaraVredenburg.
Having missed a chance to get to the .500 mark, the Bees, at 7-9, awaited its playoff announcement. It arrived on Sunday, with the Bees realizing that it would have to win three times to earn a sectional title.
The opening-round game has no. 4 seed B’ville against no. 5 seed Auburn. Win there, and the Bees would challenge top seed Fayetteville-Manlius in the semifinals, with the other semifinal pitting no. 2 seed Rome Free Academy against no. 3 seed Cicero-North Syracuse. The finals are Nov. 3 at Vernon-Verona-Sherrill.
