Boys Soccer Hits High On Soccer Night But Find Scoring Wanting Since

Photo: Belmont’s Jake Carson celebrate his goal vs. Winchester.

Jake Carson sure knew how to end “Soccer Night In Belmont” on a high note.

The Belmont High senior co-captain broke an offside trap from the Winchester High School back line and slotted the ball by goalie Justin Polcari – who was spectacular in net making three full stretch saves – in the final eight minutes of the game for the winning goal as the Marauders defeated the  Sachems – at the time ranked 7th in the Boston Globe’s weekly Top 20 poll – 2-0 on Saturday night, Sept. 23.

“The ball came across and [Winchester’s defenders] stepped up to put Andre [Duda] offsides, but that move let me run into space,” said Carson. With only Polcari between him and the net, Carson cut the ball back “and placed it into the corner and hoped for the best.” The pass that sent Carson away came from sophomore Will Hoerle. 

Oh, just so you know, “Soccer Night in Belmont” – the wildly successful soccer festival that brought more than 800 players, parents, and spectators to Harris Field – was founded by Jake’s dad, John Carson.

“It was probably one of the best feelings I had this soccer season, if not my whole career,” he said.

Belmont sealed the win when Duda himself beat another trap, catching up to a pass from the senior defender and co-captain Kostas Tingos and put the ball by Polcari with three minutes remaining. 

For Head Coach Brian Bisceglia-Kane, while the match was special because it was played before a large crowd – about ten times the size of a regular season game – “but it’s just one-sixteenth of our season and then into the playoffs hopefully.”

“You have to temper the expectations of the players thinking that this means more, but whenever you play Winchester … they are always great to play against. It was just a fun overall match,” he said.

Bisceglia-Kane said this associate head coach, Matt Berk – who was Bisceglia-Kane’s teammate at Brandeis – has made a big difference in freeing up the team’s practices for specialized training sessions. 

After the high of Saturday – which led to Belmont being named the 9th ranked team by the Globe – the weekend’s scoring boom turned into a bust as the Marauders lost at home Monday to winless Reading, 2-1, (giving up a pair in the second half) before being shut out 1-0 to league leader, Arlington on Wednesday, Sept 27. At midweek, Belmont’s record stood at 4-3-1.

Bisceglia-Kane said that scoring ultimately comes down to the scoring chances the team creates. “And sometimes it’s just luck.” 

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