ONONDAGA COUNTY – While the strides it has made this fall are quite evident, the Baldwinsville girls soccer team knows that it hasn’t yet returned to the daunting form of championship seasons past.
In search of a big win, the Bees nearly got it last Tuesday against Liverpool at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium, only to see the battle go into a second overtime before it lost, 1-0, to the Warriors.
With a 4-1-1 record, Liverpool was situated at no. 14 in the first state Class AA rankings of the fall and, much like B’ville, was playing its third game in four days.
And with so much knowledge of one another, the 80 minutes of regulation produced no result, the Bees getting more opportuntiies, yet not able to find the net.
Overtime is now a “golden goal” format where the first goal wins. The first 10-minute period went scoreless, as did much of the second OT as a draw loomed.
With just three minutes left, though, the Warriors made one more attack and, off a feed from Jailyn Parrotte, Mya Wright was able to put it past Alyssa Luce for the game-winner.
Now the Bees sought a big win when it went to Cicero-North Syracuse on Saturday, and it would get on the board twice, but not quite keep up in a 3-2 defeat to the Northstars.
It was C-NS getting the jump, grabbing a 2-0 advantage before B’ville got on the board when Nicole Pelletier produced a goal in the 27th minute.
Trailing 2-1 at the break, the Bees kept it there most of the second half, only to see the Northstars stretch its margin to two with less than 10 minutes to play. Even when Natalie Hollingshead pulled her team back within one off a feed from Aubrey Rizzo, C-NS held on, led by Emilee Rio’s two goals and Maya Germain’s one goal and one assist.
All of this followed B’ville’s sweep of games the previous weekend against two visiting opponents as part of the statewide Hall of Fame Tournament.
On Sept. 17, B’ville faced Athens (Pennsylvania) and picked up a 2-0 shutout. Both goals came in the first half.
Adrianna Orlando found the net in the 14th minute and Pelletier followed with an insurance tally. From there, the Bees’ defense did the rest, Carlie Young and Alyssa Luce stopping each of the five shots they faced.
A day later, B’ville beat Section IV’s Elmira 2-1, again with all of the goals coming in the first half.
Pelletier put the Bees in front and, after the Express pulled even 1-1, Pelletier converted again for what proved to be the game-winner.
Through the rest of the game, Elmira found itself unable to generate any real opportunities to pull even again, with B’ville’s back line again quite stingy limiting the Express to five total shots.
A rematch between B’ville and C-NS this Thursday follows a visit from Fayetteville-Manlius and precedes a Saturday game at Rome Free Academy.
