The last time Cicero-North Syracuse and Baldwinsville shared a field, the Bees were being crowned Section III champions.
The NorthStars (5-0) avenged that title game loss with a 6-1 victory over the Bees (4-1) in Tuesday's Class A matchup at Baldwinsville's Baker High School.
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"It really meant a lot, because we didn't beat them a single time last year," said Chrissy Wagner, a senior forward who scored three goals for C-NS on Tuesday. "And so this game has been really hyped up and I think that because of that, this is one of the best games that we've played this year as a team. We were just all working really well together as a team because we wanted to win this game so bad."
Wagner also recorded an assist in Tuesday's win, but credited the team's defense for holding a high-scoring Baldwinsville team to just one goal.
"I think that the only reason that any of us were able to score is because of our strong defense and like our mid stepping up to the ball every single time," she said. "Everyone just working hard and putting %100 effort into everything."
Last year, Baldwinsville outscored C-NS 7-1 in their three matchups. The Bees have outscored opponents 18-1 in four games coming into Tuesday's matchup.
"(Our) defense was solid," C-NS head coach Pat Kennedy said. "They really started playing the way we knew they were capable of playing and they played with high energy. They were taking away a lot of passes. (Baldwinsville has) got a couple great players. I mean they got a great team overall, but Schultz and Roy. The two of them are phenomenal, and they got their shots off."
Julia Schultz scored the Bees' only goal in the third quarter off an assist from Bridget Roy.
The Northstars also got contributions from Nicole Conklin (1 goal) and Shannon Brown (2 goals). Eva Farone had two assists and Gabby Wameling had one for C-NS.
Avery Richardson recorded seven saves and earned the win for the Northstars. Baldwinsville's Caley Gee had eight saves.
Kennedy said the thing that sets this year's C-NS team apart from others he has coached is they have excellent team chemistry to go along with exceptional talent.
"I've been coaching a long time and sometimes you have outstanding teams that don't get along and they don't do well," he said. "Then other years, you have less talent, but they get along and they go far. This year we're blessed. We've got good talent and team chemistry is outstanding. They just get along so well, and I think that's the big thing to our success right now."
Wagner agreed with her coach about how well she and her teammates get along.
"We had a lot of returners this year, so it was really easy for us to mesh," she said. "I feel we mesh even better than usual because we're looking out for each other and we're not trying to win the game by ourselves. We're all working together and I feel like we have a common goal, so it's making us work better together."
C-NS next travels to Canastota for a noon matchup on Saturday. Baldwinsville will look to rebound Friday with a 6 p.m. matchup at Rome Free Academy.
