Even as it garnered a spot in the first state Class AA rankings of the season – no. 23, to be exact – the Baldwinsville girls soccer team still had much to prove if it wanted to justify that lofty status. Following a 4-0 defeat to two-time defending Section III champion Liverpool on Sept. 28, the Bees traveled to Rochester to face Mercy last Monday night, and took a 2-1 defeat. Perhaps taking a while to unwind after a long road trip, B’ville fell behind, 2-0, by halftime. But when the Bees started to settle down in the second half, it pulled within one as Haley Couchman scored off a feed from Isabella May. B’ville’s defense also settled in, blanking Mercy in the second half as, combined, Jaclyn Hingre and Mackenzie Hanna made 14 saves, but the Bees were unable to pull back event. So when B’ville made a much shorter road trip to Fayetteville-Manlius on Thursday to make up a weather-postponed Sept. 11 meeting, it really needed a quality win – and got it, again leaning on its defense to mostly account for a 1-0 victory over the Hornets. These same two teams had met Sept. 23 at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium, and neither managed to get on the board in a 0-0 draw. Just 11 days later, the rematch had similar tones, with the two defenses again able to resist most of what got thrown at them. The sole difference was that, during one first-half push, Jade Gentile broke open and, taking a pass from Stephanie Roberts, pushed a shot past F-M goalie Alex Lunderman and into the net. For the rest of the game, Lunderman, who made nine saves, and the Hornets blanked B’ville. But a back line anchored by Roberts, Tianna Coon, Logan Hornsey and Kylee Scott made sure F-M didn’t catch up, either, and Hingre, playing the entire game in the net, earned 10 saves. Back home 24 hours later, B’ville had an easier time of it with Oswego, defeating the Buccaneers 4-1 as it used a trio of first-half goals to gain total control. Hingre was back in the field and promptly got a goal and assist. Couchman, May and Roberts earned goals, too, with Couchman contributing an assist. Now with a mark of 6-3-2, B’ville plays Wednesday night at Central Square, looking for three wins in a row and a chance to build a late-season win streak that could cause the other AA contenders to pay closer attention, whether the Bees are state-ranked or not.