BALDWINSVILLE – Not only did the Baldwinsville field hockey team cede the Section III Class A championship to Cicero-North Syracuse a season ago, it had to watch the Northstars get within an overtime defeat of a state title.
These are things the Bees badly wanted going into 2023, but before it met C-NS, it would first get challenged by another primary Class A contender in its own tournament.
That event, the annual Huntington Tournament, commenced Aug. 31 with the Bees getting a hat trick from Abigail Mantione in a 4-1 victory over Vernon-Verona-Sherrill.
B’ville dashed to a 3-0 advantage by halftime, cruising from there as Mantione would notch three goals for a hat trick, twice getting assists from Ella Holtman, who earned the other goal. Chloe Butler was terrific in the net, stopping 11 of the Red Devils’ 12 shots.
The Bees would get Rome Free Academy in the Sept. 1 final after the Black Knights shut out reigning sectional Class B champion Holland Patent 3-0 in the first round.
RFA was also after C-NS’s throne, and this battle with B’ville would prove a classic, each side converting penalty but B’ville finding itself on the wrong end of a 4-3 decision.
Falling behind 1-0 after one period, the Bees saw Holtman’s second-quarter goal tie it. Both scored again in the third quarter, with Holtman earning her second.
Then RFA converted twice in the final period, B’ville only able to answer once – from Holtman, whose hat trick was not quite enough.
Attacked all day long, Bees goalie Chloe Butler made 18 saves, only to have RFA solve her with goals from four different players – Alexa Thompson, Isabeal McMahon, Fiona McMahon and Cara Mecca.
This added some urgency to B’ville’s scheduled game Thursday against Liverpool, who had flown out to a 3-0 start scoring 20 goals in those games, but a heavy, persistent thunderstorm caused a postponement of the game until later in the season.
Now the Bees go on the road, first to face Fayetteville-Manlius on Monday and then taking on East Syracuse Minoa next Thursday night before making up that Liverpool game on Saturday at noon.
