Early-season results had indicated that very little separated the top field hockey teams in the area Class A ranks, with Baldwinsvile as a focal point.
The Bees had won (over Fayetteville-Manlius) and lost (to Liverpool) 1-0 decisions, and it only figured that last Tuesday’ night’s showdown with undefeated Cicero-North Syracuse at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium would also end in a 1-0 decision.
Sitll undefeated at 6-0, C-NS had already won three different games by one-goal margins over F-M, Liverpool and Little Falls, and it was quickly apparent this game would be a tense one, too.
They were 0-0 going into the second quarter, when the Northstars inched out in front thanks to Ayvah Romano netting a goal assisted by Maria Wozniczka.
For the rest of the night, the Bees’ defense kept turning back C-NS’s chances to build a cushion as Chloe Butler would finish the night with eight saves.
What the Bees could not do was produce much of a consistent pressure, the Northstars ultimately holding them to three shots, all stopped by eighth-grader Olivia Planty.
Back on the field Thursday at Cazenovia, the Bees found itself in another close, low-scoring battle where, again, a single goal decidedit and it went against B’ville in a 1-0 defeat.
A first-quarter Lakers push led to Grace Kingsley scoring off a feed from Isabella Fazio. For the rest of the game, B’ville’s defense did a solid job keeping out Cazenovia and limiting chances.
But the bigger issue was that, just like with C-NS, the Bees simply didn’t generate a lot of opportunities. Cazenovia’s defense, even with two starters out, limited B’ville to just two direct shots.
Now, facing Section IV power Greene on Saturday morning, the Bees needed a good performance – and got it, finding some new go-to players on the offensive end to push B’ville past the Rams 3-2.
Mya Huntington, a sophomore defender who to this point in the season had not scored a goal, managed to convert twice, with the other goal going to Raegyn Wells, a senior who works between midfield and back line. Abby Mantione also picked up an assist.
Butler’s seven saves were enough to withstand a late-game charge and the Bees found itself 4-4 midway through the regular season with three straight road games – at Rome Free Academy, at Liverpool and at Williamsville North near the Buffalo area – to close out September.
