With the wins piling up and the possibility of an undefeated regular season inching closer, the Baldwinsville girls soccer team moved up to no. 9 in the state Class AA rankings, but it was far from content.
The bees, 11-0-1 going into the week, had a far tougher time with Fayetteville-Manlius in last Tuesday’s game than it did earlier this season, but still controlled matters and earned a 2-0 shutout of the Hornets.
Remembering what it saw from that first meeting on Sept. 5, whiche F-M attempted to lay back and cover all angles, perhaps hoping for a counterattack. It mostly worked for a half, the Bees only claiming a 1-0 lead, but had to change after a second-half tally gave B’ville more of a cushion.
The Bees’ goals came from Mackenzie Schaffner and Katie Pascale, with Simone Neivel gaining an assist and its defense holding the Hornets to just two shots all night. F-M goalie Sabrina Suriani had a superb game in the net, managing 13 saves.
Saturday brought lots of rain – but also Senior Day festivities for the Bees as it hosted Mount Mercy Academy, from Buffalo, who took a conservative approach that left the hosts an ocean of opportunities, yet B’ville had to make a rare comeback to defeat the Wizards 2-1.
Perhaps distracted by the Senior Day festivities, or struggling with the weather, B’ville could not capitalize on a string of first-half scoring chances, and Mount Mercy pounced on one of its few runs to earn a penalty kick and convert it to go in front, 1-0, by halftime.
It was one of those stereotypical soccer games where one side got most of the possession, yet the other was in front on the scoreboard. Having not lost all season, B’ville was bent on keeping it that way, and got even midway through the second half with Kelsey Delola’s goal, assisted by Addison Hornsey.
Minutes later, another Bees attack led to a Mount Mercy handball inside the 18-yard box and a penalty kick that Carolyn Brussel converted for the eventual game-winner.
On Columbus Day, B’ville would host New Hartford, followed a day later by a visit from struggling West Genesee, whom the Bees defeated 1-0 in late September. The regular season ends for the Bees with Thursday’s trip to Archie Hall Stadium to face Cicero-North Syracuse.