Against most of its opposition, the massive roster turnover the Baldwinsville boys soccer team had to go through would not be too evident.
However, some foes have made things more difficult, and West Genesee has done so in particular, coming to Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium last Tuesday night and knocking off the Bees 1-0.
When these same two teams had met 18 days earlier at Mike Messere Field, WG had pushed B’ville into overtime, and while it lost, 2-1, it also discovered how well it matched up with the Bees and that it could shut them down.
The rematch bore this out, as on defense the Wildcats frustrated B’ville throughout the contest, limiting them to just two shots to keep goalies Alex Toumbcaris and Josh Farrell from too much stress.
Only once was WG able to solve the Bees’ defense, but it made the difference, Josh Rimualdo taking a pass from Justin Byrne and netting what proved to be the game-winner with 13 minutes left in regulation.
Try as it could, B’ville could not pull even, something it would have to attempt again, though in different circumstances and with a different degree of success, Friday night when it faced Liverpool.
Here, the deficit was created early thanks to the Warriors’ Jacob Chajkowski scoring, and it was quickly erased, Malik Davis netting the equalizer.
And it would stay 1-1 through the rest of the first half, the entire second half and most of the two OT periods, with the Warriors getting lots of opportunities but unable to get another one past B’ville goalie Owen Tracy.
All told, Tracy made 10 saves, and he got rewarded when Davis, in the second OT, returned to put in the game-winner, just what was needed before B’ville challenged undefeated Fayetteville-Manlius on Tuesday before a Saturday trip to Westhill.
After all of this tension, the Bees needed a less stressful game and got it on Saturday afternoon, putting together a 3-0 shutout of the Oswego Buccaneers.
Despite its 1-4 record, Oswego kept within range until B’ville converted twice in the second half. Chase Hornsey led the getaway, earning two goals as Griffin Seeber got the other, assists credited to James Brussel, Aidan Stan and Cory Herbert.
And this leads to two showdowns this week, a rematch Tuesday with undefeated Fayetteville-Manlius and a non-league battle at undefeated Westhill Saturday at noon.
