ONONDAGA COUNTY – Staying undefeated through six games meant attention and early accolades for the Baldwinsville boys soccer team, and it hoped to keep living up to them.
The Bees were no. 8 in the state Class A rankings when it met up with two reigning Section III champions in back-to-back games late last week.
First, and most important, was the showdown with Fayetteville-Manlius, who has proven a bit more vulnerable this fall after the deparaure of Nino Pagano to Syracuse University.
Despite this, and despite controlling the flow of play through most of a wet and windy evening, B’ville still found itself on the wrong end of a 1-0 decision for its first loss of the season.
At 5-0-2 going into the game, the Bees spent much of the first half in the Hornets’ end, applying consistent pressure and earning a series of set pieces.
However, the free kicks and corner kicks were all turned back by a tough F-M defense, and its ability to counter-attack was evident in a run late in the first half when Nick Donnelly flashed open, only to have Nick Hollingshead come well out of the net to stop it.
Much of the second half followed the same pattern, so it was still 0-0 when, with 5:10 left, the decisive play was made.
An F-M free kick from the left corner was not cleared out and, amid the scramble, Donnelly got the ball at the right point and fired a hard shot that Hollingshead had no chance to stop.
B’ville warmed up for these games by handling Corcoran 8-0 last Tuesday night, a rare opportunity for the offense to put its skills on display.
Eager to bounce back after a 0-0 draw with Cicero-North Syracuse on Sept. 17, the Bees saw Evan Smith land his eighth and ninth goals of the season to surpass his entire total from 2021, to go with an assist.
Marcello Vona also had two goals and one assist, while Greg Ramin had a goal and two assists. Will Stevens and Johan Savage each got one goal and one assist as Owen Daly converted and assists went to Andrew Jung, Zach Ehrig and Abrahm Cavalieri.
Two days after facing F-M, B’ville found itself at East Syracuse Minoa, where the reigning sectional Class A champion Spartans were able to rally and stun the Bees 2-1.
Stevens, off a feed from Evan Smith, netted the only goal of the first half. Yet ESM pulled even when Armin Osmanovic scored and, late in regulation, Behudin Malkic converted the game-winner, negating Holllingshead’s eight saves.
Staying on the road this week, B’ville faces Cicero-North Syracuse on Wednesday and Liverpool on Saturday, teams it played to draws (the Warriors 2-2, the Northstars 0-0) earlier this season.
