ONONDAGA COUNTY – All the wins, and all the shutouts, it had earned through the month of September had continued to boost the confidence of the Baldwinsville boys soccer team.
Yet it all came back to Fayetteville-Manlius, especially since the two sides passed the midway point of their respective seasons undefeated and both ranked in the state Class AA top 10.
Having settled nothing when they drew 0-0 with the Hornets Sept. 11 at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium, the Bees went to F-M last Tuesday night for the highly-anticipated rematch – where again B’ville could not get on the board, and this time paid for it with a 2-0 defeat.
Just as in that first meeting, B’ville drew its defense upon F-M’s main scoring threat, Nino Pagano. But a foul inside the 18-yard box less than 14 minutes into the game drew a penalty kick that Pagano converted.
For the rest of the game, the Bees attempted to catch up, but was held to just five shots, all stopped by Jonathan Shiroff, and Pagano returned later to put in the insurance goal assisted by Riley Warren-Nichols.
Perhaps this game had a lingering effect, for when B’ville visited East Syracuse Minoa on Saturday, it took a more lopsided defeat than it did at F-M, falling 3-0 to the Spartans.
Between Todd Durantini’s pair of goals and a tally from Nico Paduano, ESM jumped out in front and stayed there, seeing goalie Hamdija Causevic stop each of the six Bees shots he faced.
Meanwhile, the Baldwinsville girls soccer team continued to struggle, dropping to 4-6-2 on the season last Monday night in a 1-0 defeat to West Genesee at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium.
When these two sides first met Sept. 8 in Camillus, it was a wild, back-and-forth battle where both defenses struggled and the Bees managed to pull it out 4-3.
Both sides defended better in the rematch, especially after the Wildcats went in front on sophomore Marisa Closson’s first-ever varsity goal in the opening half.
For the most part, WG spent the rest of the game protecting its own end, and the back line did so, deflecting away chances and, when it didn’t, seeing goalie Jenna Orr recording eight saves.
Three nights later, B’ville attempted to avenge an earlier 1-0 defeat to Fayetetville-Manlius, and got on the board twice. Yet that didn’t prove enough as it lost 3-2 to the Hornets.
It was F-M moving out in front, but then Audra Salvagni found the net in the latter stages of the first half, and that 1-1 score held until halftime.
Early in the second half, Gretchen Perine converted and B’ville claimed a 2-1 advantage, but its defense could not quite hold on to it, Lauren Clark leading F-M’s comeback as she would convert twice and Morgan Goodman would get the Hornets’ other goal.
