Sold In Belmont: Another Million Dollar Sale On Pleasant Street

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Photo: A beautiful Old-Style single family near Town Field sold below list but still near seven figures.

A weekly recap of residential properties sold in the past seven days in the “Town of Homes.”

• 53-55 Alma Ave., Two-family (1916). Sold: $855,000. Listed at $879,000. Living area: 2,300 sq.-ft. 15 rooms, 5 bedrooms,2 baths. On the market: 65 days. Last sold: March 1968, $0. 

• 470 Pleasant St., Brick Tudor/Old Style (1929). Sold: $1,400,000. Listed at $1,295,000. Living area: 3,841 sq.-ft. 10 rooms, 5 bedrooms, 3.5 baths. On the market: 139 days. Last sold: Sept. 2003, $624,900.

• 39 Gilmore Rd., Pre-war Cape (1941). Sold: $765,000. Listed at $799,000. Living area: 1,587 sq.-ft. 7 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths. On the market: 30 days. Last sold: Oct. 2006, $672,500. 

Field Hockey: Perfect Start For Sure: 4 Games, 4 Wins, 4 Shutouts

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Photo: 

After the first two weeks of the season, Belmont High Field Hockey has been, let’s say it, damn near perfect. In four games, the team is undefeated with 19 goals scored, and none conceded. That’s right; not a single ball has gotten by senior goalie Christine MacLeod.

Zero, zilch, nada.

And this from a team that lost nearly its entire back line from last year’s team and a defensive midfielder, AnnMarie Habelow, who is currently playing for Division 1 Louisville.

Not a bad start for Head Coach Jessie Smith’s squad made up of an extensive list of young role players who are jelling on the pitch right from the outset of the first game. 

Belmont will meet its stiffest challenge of the season so far on Tuesday, Sept. 18 at 6 p.m. as the Marauders host 3-1 Lexington at Harris Field.

After a blowout of Burlington and two easier games against Stoneham and Woburn, it took Belmont nearly the entire hour to break down Wilmington’s defensive stranglehold as the Tanners placed all its field players in front of the ball when Belmont was attacking. But 

The biggest challenge was reconstructing the three defenders after losing All-Star Julia Chase (now playing at D1 UNH) and three-year varsity starter Molly Goldberg to graduation. Playing center defense is sophomore Emma Donahue who is learning to be a significant presence on the field, stepping up to take away passing lanes and intercepting balls in Belmont’s 1-0 win over a strong Wilmington squad last Monday, Sept. 11. 

Joining Donahue – who is the niece of Watertown’s coaching legend Eileen Donahue – are senior veterans Meri Power and Johnna Crowley who Smith called “a defensive wall” making “great decisions with the ball” in the Wilmington game.

Taking over in center midfield from Habelow is all-star in the making sophomore Katie Guden. Running the offensive, Guden is Smith’s “Energizer Bunny. That kid never stops.”

“She is such a force when moving the ball and her passes [are] outstanding,” said Smith. Joining Guden quarterbacking the team are senior co-captains, Bridget Gardiner and Lillie Devitt. 

“The midfield in general [is] very involved both defensively and offensively. They are critical in all transitions,” said Smith.

Belmont has not lost its scoring punch of the past two years, led by junior Jordan Lettiere who has talled six goals (including a hat-trick in the Marauders’ 5-0 at Stoneham) in three of the four games. Fellow junior Morgan Chase continues from last year being the team’s offensive juggernaut, using her stick handling skills to attack the opposition. It was her goal from an assist from Lettiere in the final three minutes of the Wilmington match.

Alexa Sabatino, the third senior co-captain, junior Hannah Power (each with two goals this season) and several more players are contributing in the opposition’s attacking zone. 

“We are nearly half way to our goal of making the playoffs, once again,” said Smith.

Selectmen Place Two On Planning Board Seen Supporting Status Quo

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Photo: The Board of Selectmen Monday.

A divided Belmont Board of Selectmen Monday added two members to the Planning Board seen as favorable to the board’s current leadership which was attacked by one selectman for exceeding its authority and fostering a ponderous permitting process. 

“You’ll be sorry,” charged Selectman Adam Dash as the board voted 2-1 to re-appoint sitting member Raffi Manjikian and while selecting Dalton Road’s Stephen Pinkerton to replace Joseph DeStefano on the five-member board at the Selectmen’s meeting held Monday night, Sept. 11.

Dash, who backed Edward “Sandy” Sanderson for the board, said the town had missed the opportunity to change the direction the Planning Board which has come under withering criticism from residents and the elected Board of Library Trustees for advocating in July a proposal to move the Belmont Public Library to Waverley Square as part of a public/private partnership to revitalize the once vibrant business hub.

Pinkerton is one of the leaders of Belmont Citizens for Responsible Zoning which led the successful campaign to restrict the building of oversized single-family dwellings in the Shaw Estate in 2015. 

Sanderson was a city planner for the City of Los Angeles and is currently an urban and transportation planner in the Boston office of a New York-based civil engineering firm.

“If you were posting this job and you got these applications … how do you not hire [Sanderson] for this job when he’s exactly perfectly qualified for this,” said Dash, adding that he would consider placing Pinkerton as an associate member “to get his feet wet” on the board.

Monday’s well-attended meeting, which set aside 15 minutes for several appointments on multiple boards, quickly became a surrogate of the ongoing dispute between the Planning Board and the Library Trustees, whose chair Kathleen Keohane and member Gail Mann attended the meeting. 

Liz Allison, Planning Board chair, was in the audience as was Manjikian with a few supporters backing her. Nearby sat Planning Board member Chuck Clark, who last week sharply denounced both Allison and Manjikian for formulating the proposal to move the library – dubbed the “Big Idea” – without informing the entire board.

Before the vote, Dash spoke at length criticising the Planning Board calling for it to take a new direction which would have begun with Sanderson elected to the board.

“I get a lot of emails from people complaining about roads and sidewalks, parking and all of those emails complaints added up don’t equal the number I get complaining about the Planning Board,” said Dash.

Dash said while keeping an open mind to the proposed library transfer when it was initially presented; Dash said his major concerned was Allison’s unwillingness to cede to overwhelming public sentiment and abandon the scheme. Rather, Dash said he could see the Planning Board presenting the “Big Idea” at a future Town Meeting even if the Library Trustees – who are elected by residents to represent the interests of the library – were opposed to it.

“I get concerned that in the face of the facts … that moving the library to Waverley Square is DOA, there’s a continued push, push, push for that,” he said.

With some major projects coming before the Planning Board shortly – a new High School, revamping general residence zoning and commercial development proposals – Dash said too much emphasis had been placed on projects that are beyond the jurisdiction of the Planning Board.

“It’s taking up a lot of time when there are a lot of things on the plate that gets kicked down the road,” he said.

Overly Bureaucratic 

Also, Dash related that many applicants who have appeared before the Planning Board had expressed their frustration at the deliberative and overly bureaucratic nature of the board’s process. Critics point to the 18 months approval process for the formerly named Cushing Village development and the recent Boston Day School site and design review in which the applicant was required to resubmit documents and undergo delays on seemingly trivial matters.

While he said some of the problems facing applicants arise from the zoning code, Dash said the level of micromanagement from the Planning Board is akin to “death by a thousand cuts.” 

“I feel bad about it because I served with [Planning Board members] and I like them. It’s not a personal thing. Just observing it and the way things are moving forward, [the Planning Board] is not working for the town,” said Dash.

“It just seems to me that it’s not going to change unless we make some changes and this is a place to start,” said Dash.

Asked by Selectmen Chair Jim Williams to speak on both Dash’s comments and who should be  Allison came to the defense of her committee noting that in the past four years all the substantial articles it presented to Town Meeting have been approved. “You can’t pass major bylaw changes … if you are that unpopular.”

The chair also said the issue that has produced “by far” the most correspondence to the Planning Board over the past three months had concerned the Day School proposal, leaving the impression the library is not registering with the greater community.

“Do we get complaints? Yes, because … it is one of the committees where you have to balance the equities,” said Allison. 

Allison told the board she was strongly in favor of reappointing Manjankian who has knowledge of environmental issues and is committed to civil and respectful processes while being able to tell people ‘no’ in respect of things people want to do.”

While not coming out in favor for the second selection, Allison did say Pinkerton had attended many planning board meeting as a zoning campaigner and would be as ready as anyone could be to step onto the board.

Clark reiterated his call for significant changes to the Planning Board. Rather than recall what he said a week earlier, Clark said it was time to “restore confidence in the Planning Board” which required a change in leadership. One avenue towards transforming the group would be not to reappoint Manjikian “because that would change the dynamics on the board and you’d have new leadership elected.”

“There is a lot of work that has to be done by the Planning Board, but we need to get past the problems of being distracted from the important issues,” said Clark, noting that the board has lost six months on moving forward on the future of Waverley Square and South Pleasant Street. 

Selectman Mark Paolillo said he would seek to change the current bylaw to expand the number of board members from five to seven to allow a greater diversity of views

“Every year we have some qualified individuals,” said Paolillo, hoping opening up the board to a higher number of residents will allow for greater diversity of thought.

But as Williams noted, an expanded planning board that would be constituted next year “doesn’t help us now.” 

In the end, Williams and Paolillo selected Manjikian and Pinkerton with the promise to have Sanderson on a short list of candidates to fill the next opening on the board. 

Sports: Belmont Football Edged In Home Opener, 20-14, by Framingham

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Photo: Belmont’s fullback Adam Deese leads running back Tyler Reynolds late in Friday’s game vs. Framingham.

Last Friday night’s home opener for Belmont High football squad had all the appearance of the last second, nail-biting victory for the Marauders. 

With 11 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter in a 20-14 game, Belmont had driven nearly 90 yards in five minutes to the Framingham High School Flyers 6 yard line and faced a fourth down and one yard to go. 

But senior quarterback George Fitzgerald’s pass skimmed just over the fingertips of his receiver for an incompletion, allowing Framingham to secure its first 2-0 record in more than a decade while Marauders left the field at 0-2, having dropped last week’s season opener, 28-7, against a tough Milton High School team.

“First and foremost, that was a great football game. It was fun to coach in and fun for everyone to watch,” said Belmont’s fourth year Head Coach Yann Kumin.

“We’re not satisfied being on the short end of a close game … with an opportunity to score. We just need not shot ourselves in the foot. We turned the ball over twice in the first half, and one led to a score.” 

Friday night’s game, which began 45 minutes late due to traffic that delayed Framingham arrival to Harris Field, saw Belmont’s defense spring to action with four takeaways including three interceptions of Framingham’s sophomore QB Jack Beverly. Leading the D-backs was senior Joe Viale who came up with a monster game including a pair of picks and a half dozen times breaking up certain completions.

It was Framingham’s ability to strike on special teams that proved the difference in the game as the Flyers were able to gain vital yards on kickoffs and punt returns. The game started with Flyers’ Christian Alicea returned the opening kick to Belmont’s 8-yard line. 

After Belmont’s defense held and took over the ball at the 18, Fitzgerald was sacked on third down and apparently fumbled the ball despite appearing being down in contact with the turf. Flyer junior Chidi Nna recovered the loose ball for a TD after less than three minutes into the game. 

Belmont’s second drive ended on a fumble at midfield but the Marauders to over on Vitale’s first interception. Late in the first quarter, Belmont’s senior Inside Linebacker Caleb Henman picked off Beverly with 1:15 to go. That turnover led to Fitzgerald finding senior wide receiver Jake Pollock who ran 12 yards into the end zone with 10 seconds left to give Belmont the first quarter lead, 7-6.

Framingham regained the lead in the second quarter when it took over the ball deep in Belmont’s territory. The Flyers then employed an offense more associated with rugby than football; placing all 11 offensive players within a five-yard “box,” handing off the ball to the back who would follow the scrum. With its size advantage up front, Framingham pushed its senior running back Isaac Blackman into the end zone. Missing its second two-point conversion, the Flyers led 12-7.

After Belmont’s offense failed to move the ball, the Flyers took over after another good punt return. After Viate knocked down a pair of passes thrown his way, the third time was the charm as Beverly hit junior Jon Lanzo in the corner of the end zone on a fourth-down and ten from the 18 yard line with 13 seconds left in the half. This time the two-point conversion was successful for a 20-7 visitor’s advantage at halftime.

“If we clean up those mistakes in the first half, we would have been in a better position in the second half,” said Kumin.

Belmont’s defense would stiffen and shut out the Flyers in the second half as the Marauders’ offense took the quarter to begin moving with confidence against a strong Framingham defense.

With senior fullback Adam Deese making much in each run against a defense targeting him, Fitzgerald started winging it out and found his senior receiving corp including senior Will Ellet for 12 yards and Pollard who fought off a pair of Framingham backs for a 30-yard touchdown reception midway through the fourth period.

Framingham began the next possession near midfield and drove the ball to Belmont’s 34-yard line when Viale snagged his second INT to give the Marauders the ball with 5:45 to play and 83 yards from pay dirt.

Fitzgerald found Pollard for 10 yards on a third down and Deese gained 15 yards on three plays before senior running back Tyler Reynolds took a pitch 15 yards to the Flyers’ 40 with 3:08 to play.

With Belmont facing a fourth and six from the 35, Fitzgerald got a Flyers lineman to move for a five-yard offsides penalty resulting in Deese plowing one yard for the first down.

A Fitzgerald scamper around the right edge gave Belmont a first and ten from the 16 with 43 seconds remaining. But a completed pass t0 Ellet and runs by Reynolds left Belmont looking at fourth down with 11 seconds remaining.  The rest is history.

“I am so proud of my team. This team can make some noise in the league,” said Kumin. “This is a team that battles back when things aren’t going exactly the way it was supposed to go. They were driven in what they did and executed in big moments. I’m fired up for next Friday.”

Belmont’s next game is Friday, Sept. 22 at Haris Field against Woburn to begin the Middlesex League part of the schedule.

Belmont Yard Sales: Sept. 2-3; The Annual Shop Around The Block

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Photo: Garage sales in Belmont.

Here are this weekend’s yard/moving/garage sales happening in the 02478 zip code:

This weekend is the annual Belmont neighborhood “Shop Around The Block” on the streets around the Chenery Middle School at Hurd Road and Oakley Road.

36 JACKSON RD 09/16 (Sat) 9:00am 5:00pm (none)
21 SPRINGFIELD ST 09/16 (Sat) 9:00am 4:00pm (none)
285 WAVERLEY ST 09/16 (Sat) 8:30am 5:30pm (none)
75 FLETCHER RD 09/16 (Sat) 9:00am 12:00pm (none)
12 HURD RD 09/16 (Sat) 9:00am 3:00pm neighborhood
53 HURD RD 09/16 (Sat) 9:00am 12:00pm (none)
53 SELWYN RD 09/16 (Sat) 9:00am 2:00pm (none)
175 WASHINGTON ST 09/16 (Sat) 8:30am 2:00pm (none)
60 SELWYN RD 09/16 (Sat) 9:00am 1:00pm (none)
29 SELWYN RD 09/16 (Sat) 9:00am 4:00pm (none)
201 OAKLEY RD 09/16 (Sat)
& 09/17 (Sun)		 9:00am 3:00pm (none)
18 HURD RD 09/16 (Sat)
& 09/17 (Sun)		 8:30am 4:00pm (none)
49 TROWBRIDGE ST 09/16 (Sat) 8:30am 2:00pm (none)
169 WASHINGTON ST 09/16 (Sat) 9:00am 1:00pm (none)
67 HURD RD 09/16 (Sat) 9:00am 12:00pm (none)
22 IVY RD 09/16 (Sat) 8:30am 3:00pm (none)

Learn About Plans For New High School Tuesday, Sept. 19

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Photo: The project even has a logo.

It will likely be the largest and most expensive construction project in Belmont’s history. So don’t you want to know more about the new Belmont High School?

Join the Belmont High School Building Committee for a community engagement meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 19, at 7 p.m. in the Chenery Middle School auditorium, 95 Washington St.

The night’s agenda will include:

  • High School Building Project updates
  • Introduction of the Project Design team
  • District Enrollment Update and Grade Configuration discussion
  • Results of Recent Education Visioning workshops
  • Questions and comments

“The Community Meetings will be a great chance for the public to hear and comment about the recent work of the Belmont High School Building Committee,” said Belmont School Superintendent John Phelan.

“This will include meeting the Project Team: Daedalus Projects and Perkins+Will who will be leading this work. The audience will also learn about the enrollment and space challenges of the school, the three grade configurations being considered (7-12, 8-12, 9-12) as well as the ‘visioning’ work of the school system as it relates to the design of the new building,” said Phelan.

Additional community meetings will take place:

  • Friday, Oct. 13 at 1:15 p.m. at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St.
  • Saturday, Oct. 28 at 10 a.m. at Belmont High School.
  • Wednesday, Nov. 15 at 7:30 p.m. at Belmont Town Hall
  • Tuesday, Dec. 12 at 7 p.m. at Belmont High School

To sign up for email updates and to learn more about the Belmont High School Building Project, including project timelines, videos, meeting schedules, presentations, and more, please visit its webpage.

Email questions to BHS-BC@belmont-ma.gov

Sports: Volleyball Bounces Back With First Win; Boys, Girls Soccer On Roll

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Photo: Volleyball for the win. 

During this first week of play, Belmont High School teams are finding their winning strides:

Girls Volleyball: (Friday, Sept. 8) Belmont 3, Wilmington 0

A young Belmont Volleyball (1-1) came back from a challenging first game of the season loss at Burlington with a solid win over Wilmington, 3-0 (25-14, 25-22, 25-20) in the home opener on Friday, Sept. 8.

After a dominate first set victory, Belmont found itself down for most of the second set, trailing 18-22 after a Wilmington side out. But the set turned around on Jen Tan‘s crucial service turn as she won the final seven service chances of the set.

“That really set the tone for the last set,” said Belmont Head Coach Jen Couture. “Jen’s serving really fires the team up and raises the energy level on the court.”

The Marauders was ahead 5-2 in the third set when outstanding sophomore Mindee Lai went on her own impressive service run, winning eight consecutive services points to up Belmont’s lead to 12-3.

“Julia Logan also stepped up to play outside hitter and contributed four kills by finding holes in the defense and tooling the block,” said Couture.

Belmont victory came after a 3-1 (22-25, 25-17, 25-23, 25-17) loss to Burlington. Sophomore libero Sophia Estok and junior Leah Babroudi were outstanding on serve receive, 32 for 34 and 17 for 18 against some very tough serves. Lai led the offense with 18 assists, many to sophomore outside hitter Nena Trifunovic who contributed 13 kills in her varsity debut.
 
Volleyball will be heading to Stoneham on Tuesday, Sept. 12.
 
Boys Soccer: Belmont 2, Wilmington 0
 
It took a while for Belmont Boys’ Soccer to find a way through a stubborn Wildcat defense but the Marauders found the back of the net twice in the final 13 minutes to win its home opener, 2-0, over Wilmington at Harris Field Friday afternoon, Sept. 8.
 
On both goals, Belmont attacked down the left side and with a series of in-close passes, opened the field to allow Will Hoerle to score with 12 minutes remaining and Marc Muser with the assist from Andrew Mauser to close out the victory two minutes from the final whistle. Senior Nate Espelin earned his second shutout
 
Belmont Boys Soccer’s next game is away to Stoneham on Tuesday, Sept. 12.
Girls Soccer: Belmont 3, Wilmington 1
The first significant away game of the season and Belmont (2-0-0) passed the test by defeating old nemesis Wilmington, 3-1, on the Wildcat’s home turf Saturday night, Sept 9. 
Goals by junior forward Morgan Krausse from senior Carey Allard, a long distance (estimated at 30 meters) rocket from sophomore midfielder Marina Karalis with an assist by senior Emma Sass and junior forward Elia Gagnon from Sass sealed Belmont’s second victory of the young season. 

“Great game, better than the other night,” said Head Coach Paul Graham.
 

Boston Magazine Ranks Belmont in Top 25 In ‘Top Schools’ Issue

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Photo: The cover of Boston Magazine’s 2017 Top Schools Issue 
Boston magazine’s annual education issue which it names Greater Boston’s “Top Schools 2017” has hit the newsstands and the magazine ranked Belmont‘s public school district 23rd out of 125 districts within Route 495.
 
Using data from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Boston magazine’s determined its rankings using factors such as SAT scores, student-teacher ratios, graduation rates and more.
Some fun(d) facts from the study: Belmont spent the 20th lowest amount in dollars per student of the 125 districts, at $13,029. It also had the 7th largest class size, at 21.3 students. But some equally good schools such as Winchester (ranked 14th) and Westford (6th) spent around the same per student and Acton-Boxborough (15th) has even more kids in its classroom with 21.6. 
The entire “Top Schools 2017″ list can be found here, and can be sorted by various ranking factors.

Sold In Belmont: Let The Fall Selling Season Begin

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Photo: A beautiful Old-Style single family near Town Field sold below list but still near seven figures.

A weekly recap of residential properties sold in the past seven days in the “Town of Homes.”

• 39 Davis Rd., Two-family (1925). Sold: $810,000. Listed at $819,000. Living area: 2,098 sq.-ft. 10 rooms, 4 bedrooms, 2 baths. On the market: 64 days. Last sold: Dec. 2006, $534,000

• 14 Gale Rd., Hip-roof Colonial (1935). Sold: $980,000. Listed at $925,000. Living area: 1,860 sq.-ft. 8 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths. On the market: 50 days. Last sold: a long time ago (no on-line record with Assessors Dept.)

• 22 Troy Rd., Garrison Colonial (1935). Sold: $869,000. Listed at $930,000. Living area: 1,574 sq.-ft. 7 rooms, 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths. On the market: 97 days. Last sold: Aug. 2002, $545,000.

• 76 Claflin St., Sort of Dutch Colonial-ish that was expanded (1929). Sold: $1,525,000. Listed at $1,550,000. Living area: 3,217 sq.-ft. 10 rooms, 4 bedrooms, 3 full, 2 half baths. On the market: 24 days. Last sold: April. 2012, $1,005,000.

• 72 Upland Rd., Old-Style (1911). Sold: $915,000. Listed at $925,000. Living area: 1,856 sq.-ft. 9 rooms, 4 bedrooms, 1.5 baths. On the market: 85 days. Last sold: Oct. 1993, $263,000.

Sports: Trio Of Belmont Teams Shut Out Red Devils In Season Openers

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Photo: Carey Allard on the ball

Three Belmont High School fall sports team opened their 2017 seasons on Thursday, Sept. 7 with impressive shut out victories on the opening day of their campaigns.

Girls Soccer: Belmont 6, Burlington 0

This is a warning for teams in the Middlesex League; don’t get Belmont’s Carey Allard angry. She’ll just score more goals.

That’s what an undermanned Burlington High squad discovered when they attempted to cover and mark the All-Star left forward a bit too aggressively. After being her ankles clipped and body pushed off the ball during the early moments of the first half, the Marauders’ Division 1-commit (she’s heading to UNC-Wilmington next fall) was determined to answer the physical play by punishing the defense.

With Belmont already dominating the game leading 2-0, Allard put her distinctive stamp on the game by scoring a true hat-trick within a 16-minute span, to put the match out of reach by the half.

“[Allard’s] going to score,” said Paul Graham, who has coached the team for the past quarter century.

“When she shoots from the outside like that, there’s no goalie is going to stop her.”

Allard wasn’t finished, scoring her best for last, driving by three defenders and sidestepping a fourth before placing a sharp shot deftly just inside the right post to give Belmont a 6-0 opening day win over Burlington.

“I thought all 23 players played well,” said Graham, using everyone on the bench in the home opener. 

He pointed to midfield co-captain Emma Sass’ mastery of the middle of the pitch leading to Belmont controlling the game. “She’s just so strong, controls the ball well and sees the field so well,” said Graham.

Belmont wasted no time showing its dominance scoring at the one minute mark with senior co-captain Courtney Gray spinning and dropping a shot over the head of the Burlington goaltender and into the net. Ten minutes later, Morgan Krauss doubled the lead with a shot from the right side of the goal. 

Graham also praised his back three of juniors Meagan Tan and Emily Dexter and senior Natalie Marcus-Bauer. “They played superior. They dominated when they got the ball and passed it around,” said Graham.

The true test of Belmont’s potential will come when it goes toe-to-toe with the power teams in the Middlesex League. One of those is Wilmington which the Marauders will battle away from home on Saturday, Sept. 9 at 6 p.m.

Field Hockey: Belmont 9, Burlington 0

Six Marauders scored as Coach Jessica Smith’s field hockey squad opened the flood gates against host Burlington as Belmont seeks its third consecutive Middlesex Liberty Division title.  

“It was a great team effort,” said Smtih, who used each of the 21 players on her roster.

Leading Belmont offensively was sophomore Katie Guden and junior Morgan Chase who ended the night with three points with two goals and an assist, joining Hana Powers who also pocketed a pair. Co-capt. Senior Bridget Gardiner also had three points with a goal and two assists while her fellow captain senior Alexa Sabatino had a goal and an assist. Jordan Lettiere completed the scoring with her first strike of the campaign.

“It was really fun to watch this young team in action. The passing and shots on net were fabulous,” said Smith.

“[Katie] Guden was fantastic. She is a force when moving the ball and her passes were outstanding. Gardiner also played a fabulous game.  The midfield, in general, was very involved both defensively and offensively. They including Lillie Devitt were key in all transitions,” said Smith.

While Belmont lost two Division 1 College players – midfield/sweeper AnnMarie Habelow (Louisville) and defender Julia Chase (UNH) – and a three-year starter on defense (Molly Goldberg) to graduation, it appears Smith has found a solid back row with Meri Hana and Johanna Crowley as fullbacks and sweeper Emma Donahue (niece of Watertown legionary head coach Eileen Donahue) playing in front of veteran goaltender Chrissy MacLeod. 

Boys Soccer: Belmont 3, Burlington 0

Marauder senior goalkeeper Nate Espelin stopped a penalty and earned the 3-0 shutout as Belmont High’s Boys Soccer started the 2017 season beating host Burlington on Thursday afternoon, Sept. 7.

Leading 2-0 ten minutes into the second half, a tripping foul by Belmont’s Kostas Tingos within the penalty area gave the Red Devils the opportunity to half the lead with plenty of time still to play. But like a good poker player, Espelin saw a big time “tell” from the Burlington player as he approached the ball sitting at the 11-meter mark.

“He pointed to the left side of the net like he was going to kick it there. But I guessed that’s where he wanted me to go, so I moved to the right,” said Espelin, who preserved the two goal margin.

During the match, it held the majority of possession and momentum,  Belmont ­– ranked 15th in the Boston Globe pre-season Top 20 poll – jumped into the lead when junior midfielder Seamus Dullaghan tucked in a rebound of a Jake Carson shot with eight minutes left in the first half.

The Marauders doubled its advantage when Andrew Karalis converted a penalty kick four minutes into the second half.

Belmont final score belongs to the highlight reel as Carson scored from beyond 30 meters on a direct free kick midway through the final frame.

Belmont will play its home opener on Friday, Sept. 8 at 3:45 p.m. against Wilmington.