FULTON – All was in line for a big celebration Monday night at Fulton for the Liverpool boys soccer team. Already the Warriors, by virtue of a 1-1 draw with Baldwinsville, had secured a share of the Section III Class AAA championship. Now, in the penalty-kick shootout to determine who advanced to the state tournament, goalkeeper Jacob McQuatters had stopped each of the Bees’ first two attempts and Ramiz Mehmedovic had converted his attempt, giving his team the lead. A few minutes later, though, it was B’ville celebrating a 4-3 win in the shootout and Liverpool despondent, not quite able to fully dethrone the Bees side it lost to in this same sectional final 12 months ago. This season’s pattern in the rivalry had gone in the Warriors’ favor, from a tough 1-0 decision in the season opener Sept. 3 to a 2-1 victory in October. A third encounter was secured when Liverpool topped Cicero-North Syracuse 1-0 and B’ville blanked Fayetteville-Manlius 3-0 in the Oct. 30 semifinals. What’s more, the Warriors didn’t get rattled when Dylan Blaisdell headed an Aidan Holcomb free kick into the net to give the Bees a 1-0 lead just past the midway point of the first half. Nine minutes later, Albin Buja made a strong run down the right wing and offered a perfect feed to the middle, where Bobby McQuatters headed home the tying goal – the last of the regular game, as it turned out. Jacob McQuatters made two great point-blank stops early in the second half and saw a Jack Dutter shot clang off the crossbar. With the win in its faces, the Warriors’ back line of Evan Belfield, Devin Fagan, Christian Hope and Cam Farrell turned everything else back, and did even better in the pair of 15-minute overtime periods protecting the net. When it went to penalty kicks, the experience of McQuatters contrasted that of B’ville junior goalie Sawyer Barr, who admitted that he was “scared” going into the shootout. It could not have helped Barr to see McQuatters stuff both Dutter and Jonah McMullen on the Bees’ first two attempts. But the third round proved crucial. Holcomb put B’ville on the board and Barr, having already stopped Connor Lynch, did so again with Christian Rose, and the two sides were again even. Now they traded makes – Farrell and Bobby McQuatters converting for the Warriors, Mike and Nick Sacco for the Bees – meaning a sixth round would be required. Will Stevens, the same player whose goal against Liverpool won the 2023 sectional final, made it four straight for the Bees. Now Dominic Paolini aimed for inside the right post, but Barr dove to that spot, grabbed the ball, hung on – and B’ville’s season continued.