CENTRAL NEW YORK – If the Fayetteville-Manlius field hockey team wants its 2023 season to be special, it has to find a way to win close games against quality opposition.

When the Hornets returned last Monday and lost 2-1 to Little Falls, it marked the third time this fall it dropped a one-goal decisions, accounting for all the team’s defeats.

The Mounties built a 2-0 margin by halftime thanks to goals by Alexis Kress and Jayden Regan, and its defense kept frustrating F-M and breaking up opportunities.

Though the defense settled down and Emma Dobrovech got seven saves, Carlye Bryant’s fourth-quater goal, assisted by Lauren Hills, could not keep Little Falls from hanging on.

This brought the Hornets to its game Wednesday against East Syracuse Minoa, who were still winless this fall, but would make F-M sweat all the way to the finish.

Neither team got on the board until the second quarter, when Natalie Rameas converted for F-M. That was all the Spartans would surrender, limiting the Hornets to six total shots.

But on the other end, anything the Spartans tried could not lead to a tying goal, held to just two overall shots. F-M prevailed, 1-0, and was 5-3 at the midway point of its regular season.

Back in action on Friday afternoon, F-M took a 1-0 defeat to Clinton, who got in front with Gretchen Grimm’s goal, assisted by Elise Pape, and overcame eight saves by Dobrovech.

ESM had lost 3-0 to Clinton earlier in the week. The Warriors grabbed a 2-0 edge by the end of the first quarter and never got caught, Gabriella Gemelli scoring twice as Josephine Rioux had the other goal.

Still kept on the board Saturday afternoon, ESM fell to Homer 1-0, the teams scoreless until Mallory Kline converted in the third quarter to put the Trojans in front.