Sports

Belmont Girls' Soccer, Field Hockey Righten Season-Starting Stumbles, Boys' Soccer 2-0

Belmont High teams starting their seasons on the right foot.

The fall season began for Belmont High School teams on Saturday, Sept. 7 with mixed results. But by their second games, all was well in Marauder land.

Tied Up By Watertown, Girls' Soccer Out Muscle Melrose

The conditions could not be nicer for the opening day of the Middlesex League's Liberty Division season – brilliant sunshine, warm temperatures, cooling breeze – as last year's state Div. II semi-finalist Belmont High School traveled less than two miles to meet their neighbors, Watertown High, on Saturday, Sept. 7 at Victory Field.

The Marauders were expecting to take home another victory over the Red Raiders as they had done year-in and year-out for more than a decade. 

But this time, Watertown – headlining 11 seniors – wasn't going to be pushed around. In fact, it was the Raiders who were doing the pushing, preventing the visitors from getting into any offense rhythm .

When the final whistle blew, Watertown came off the field cheering with a well-earned point with a 0-0 draw leaving Belmont's head coach Paul Graham tight-lipped, only explaining that hesitance from forwards to shot the ball within 20 yards of the goal and unfamiliarity playing as a unit resulted in a generally flat performance by everyone wearing a Belmont uniform. 

On Monday, several lineup changes by long-time head coach Paul Graham and a new attitude on the pitch, the Marauders put two past Melrose High School's outstanding goalie, Janelle Donahuel.

Belmont's first goal of the season came from senior captain Sarah Ramsey at 13 minutes in the first half as she looped the ball over Donahuel's head into the back of the net. Junior forward Sophia Eschenbach-Smith picked up her scoring touch from last year as she roofed a give-and-go pass mid-way through the second half to seal the victory. 

Junior goalie Linda Herlihy collected her second shut out of the young season with help from fellow junior Lucia Guzikowski playing a rock-solid defensive back. 

Field Hockey Bounces Back with Crushing Win Over Bedford 

"I so hate this," said Belmont High Field Hockey Head Coach Jessica Smith after her team scored their eight goal in a shut out victory over Bedford High on Monday, Sept. 9.

"I don't want to be known as a coach that runs up the score," she said as her team found its scoring punch over the Buccaneers as senior Suzanne Noone got the hat-trick and freshman standout Annemarie Habelow scored the first two goals in her career at Harris Field.

The win came after an Saturday, Sept. 7, opening day loss to four-time consecutive state Division II champs Watertown High 4-0, a match with saw Belmont competitively with the 5th-ranked team by the Boston Globe for nearly the entire first half before allowing a late goal.

Two early two-minute penalties that forced out two of the team's forwards and then a five-minute unsportsmanlike foul forced the Marauders to play catch-up for the final 30 minutes and allowed Watertown to press their advantages to take control of the second half.

"They admitted to me that they were playing scared out there," said Smith.

On Monday afternoon against undefeated Bedford, Belmont talent and skills rose to the top as they kept steady pressure on the Buccaneers from the first two minutes of the game.

When Belmont finally scored this season after 12 minutes, it was a spectacular display by midfield standout Noone who intercepted a pass deep in Belmont's end and sprinted 80 yards through the middle of the Bedford defense to score on a short from in-close.

Haley Fay joined Habelow scoring a brace with Kathryn Kennedy tallying for the Marauders as goalie Kate Saylor pitched the shut out.

Boys' Soccer Start 2-0, Cruise by Watertown, Melrose

Solid defense and scoring on their opportunities in close has Belmont High School Boys' Soccer out to a 2-0 record with Marauder goalie Peter Berens coming up with a pair of shutouts to start the season. 

The Marauders started their campaign to return to the playoffs beating last year state Division II finalists and currently 20th ranked Watertown, 1-0, played at the ungodly hour of 9 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 7.

Junior midfielder Charlie Frigo put in a rebound off the Raider goalie at the 17 minute mark of the first half, only a minute after defender Sam Bellard cleared a shot off of Belmont's goal line.

Monday, Sept. 9, the Marauders first away game resulted in a 2-0 victory over host Melrose.

Girls' Volleyball 
Despite a busted boiler valve that caused a bit of water to spill onto the Wenner Field House, the Belmont High School Girls' Volleyball team made quick work of neighboring Watertown High School, 3-0, in the opening of the season for the Marauders.

The popularity of volleyball continues in Belmont which now dresses a varsity, junior varsity and freshmen teams which due to a rules change will mean each team will play full games this season.


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