Joe Mahr was not going to miss this time – and because he didn’t, the Fayetteville-Manlius boys soccer team likely secured the top seed for the Section III Class AA playoffs. Mahr’s goal with 2:09 to play in regulation capped a stirring late comeback for the Hornets, ranked no. 6 in the latest state Class AA poll, as it beat state no. 10-ranked Baldwinsville 2-1 Wednesday night in front of a large crowd at Swan Pond. The two powers, who met in last year’s Class AA final (B’ville won, its third straight sectional crown) had already played this season, on Sept. 4 at the Chittenango Tournament, and F-M won that time 1-0. For a long while on this night, it appeared the rematch would end the same way, but in B’ville’s favor. Early on, the Bees had a majority of the possession, probing at the Hornets’ net, but unable to convert. F-M’s best chances to get on the board all came from Mahr, as twice he had point-blank looks at the net, only to slide one shot wide and hit the other too hard and off-target to the left. So it was still 0-0 when, 1:47 before halftime, B’ville’s Adam Lauko hit a perfectly timed cross from the right side that found Casey Murphy. Catching F-M goalie Ryan Carter out of position, Murphy poked a shot into the unoccupied net, and the Bees led 1-0, where it stayed at halftime. It got more physical early in the second half, F-M drawing a pair of yellow cards but, at the same time, keeping B’ville from adding to its lead. Defenders Dan Rutkowski, Alex Baynes and Mike Zazzara protected the net, and Mahr kept probing, too, including a well-hit header in the 46th minute that just flew wide. Still, as regulation time wound down, B’ville clung to that 1-0 lead, forcing F-M to increase its pressure. It worked, as it spent more time near the Bees’ goal, probed for chances – and broke through when, with 5:16 to play, Tyler Forbes fed the middle, where Brian Ward screamed a low shot past a diving Alex Bono just inside the right post. Fired up by that tying goal, F-M turned back a B’ville corner kick, then sent the ball down the right sideline as the clock neared the two-minute mark. The Bees were caught out of position as several Hornets came forward – including Mahr. Taking a crisp pass from Anthony Restante, Mahr crushed a shot that Bono had no chance of stopping for the game-winner. While all this was going on, the F-M girls soccer team went to Baldwinsville to play a Bees squad that had ascended to the top of the state AA rankings. The Hornets played hard, but fell to the Bees 2-0 in a game where both goals came in the first half. Claire Monnat and Jackie Firenze scored them, and while Nina Quigley turned everything else away and finished with 10 saves, F-M could not break through despite 12 shots on the net. Both F-M teams won Saturday over Rome Free Academy. The girls Hornets drubbed the Black Knights 9-1 at Swan Pond as Alison Baynes notched a three-goal hat trick, plus an assist. Cheyenne Hall had a goal and two assists as Marri Ryu, Michaela Steadman and Rebecca Bowyer each got one goal and one assist. Alexis Muraco and Brenna Kincaid contributed goals, too, as Mollie Caputo and Charlotte Beers got credit for assists. Out at RFA Stadium, the boys Hornets won 5-1 as Ward used two goals and one assist to lead the way. Haile Marr had one goal and one assist as Restante and Kris Alestalo also scored. Tyler Forbes, Alex Baynes and Kyle Lunney found their way to the assist column.