CENTRAL NEW YORK – Three defeats in four matches had frustrated the Cicero-North Syracuse field hockey team but had not, in any way, dimmed its championship aspirations.
Proof of this came Tuesday night when the Northstars unloaded a week’s worth of woes on Fayetteville-Manlius, prevailing by a 6-0 margin over the Hornets at Bragman Stadium.
When these teams met three weeks earlier at F-M it was a 5-1 decision, but those losses – first to Pittsford, then to Rome Free Academy and finally Liverpool – meant that C-NS had to respond.
It came in the form of two-goal outings from Addie Esce and Nicole Conklin, with Isabel Normanly dishing out a pair of assists as she joined Carleigh Colvin and Paige Pangaro netting single goals.
Almost everything in terms of how the Section III Class A playoff picture might look changed in a 48-hour stretch from Oct. 9 to 11 capped by Liverpool blanking C-NS 1-0.
Against Auburn Monday afternoon the Warriors blanked the Maroons 3-0, using single goals in the first, third and fourth quarter to pull away.
Gianna Carbone landed two of those goals, with the other going to Maura Beckwith. Liverpool applied constant pressure as Auburn goalie Abby Clark earned nine saves.
A day later, Liverpool got another shutout, this one 2-0 over East Syracuse Minoa, and Riley Moyer led the way, netting both of the Warriors’ goals as Sophia Puccia got credit for an assist.
Yet none of this would be as valuable as what Liverpool experienced Saturday in the regular-season finale – its own game against RFA and its own defeat, too.
The Black Knights topped the Warriors 3-1, showing that not only it remained the sectional Class A favorite, but that it could handle a bit of adversity thrown at them.
Liverpool answered an RFA goal in the second quarter, meaning they went to halftime 1-1, but over the next two periods the Black Knights applied relentless pressure which translated into two more goals.
At the center of it all was Fiona McMahon, who assisted on all three RFA tallies, two by Alexa Thompson and another by Izzy McMahon, while the Warriors managed just two direct shots.
