CICERO – For all the success it found elsewhere this fall, the Baldwinsville boys soccer team was ultimately done in by its inability to find the net against two specific opponents.
Over the course of five games against Cicero-North Syracuse and Fayetteville-Manlius, the Bees were shut out while accumulating a 9-1-1 record against everyone else.
It just so happened that, in order to make any kind of sustained run in the Section III Class AA playoffs, B’ville would need to get past no. 4 seed C-NS and, if it won there, a likely semifinal against top seed F-M.
But it never got past the Northstars, who prevailed 1-0 when those two long-time rivals battled Wednesday night in the sectional quarterfinal at Bragman Stadium.
Here was a game that began and ended with the no. 5 seed Bees not quite able to cash in on real scoring opportunities, and struggling to generate any kind of attack in between.
B’ville’s leading scorer, Evan Smith, had his best look in the opening minutes when, off Ben Ramin’s corner kick, he had an open header – but put it just over the net.
That loomed even larger when, in the 13th minute, C-NS earned a free kick on the left side. Goalkeeper Wyatt Dupell lobbed it to the middle, where the ball bounced around until Sean Graves, from the right side, kicked it past Nick Hollingshead to put the Northstars in front.
As the half wore on, C-NS put on heavy pressure to add to it lead, requiring B’ville’s defense to work hard to keep the margin at a single goal.
Early in the second half, another good Bees chance came when Miles Spiegel headed a Ramin corner kick onto the roof of the net, but a better chance came late in regulation.
With 6:10 left, B’ville earned a free kick on the left side. Ramin’s ball lobbed to the top center of the net and Dupell, having to time his leap perfectly, did so enough to deflect the ball off the crossbar, with the Bees unable to corral a rebound and not get as close again the rest of the way.
