Photo: Belmont High’s Katelyn Sawyer (9) and Grace Kane (3) in action against Lexington

Belmont High Boys’ and Girls’ Soccer squads got their respective seasons underway this past weekend.

Girls’: Belmont Hangs On To Secure Opener Victory

The Belmont High Marauders showed what a senior laden team can do best as it took maximum advantage of the opportunities given them to take home a 3-2 opening day victory against the host Lexington High Minutemen.

“I’m happy with the results because we lost twice of them last year. So that was a big one for us,” said of Belmont’s long time head coach Paul Graham.

The senior strike partnership of Kiki Christofori and Jenna Thomas joined sophomore midfielder Kiley Meringer with goals in the inaugural game of the shortened 10-game season.

Christofori scored midway though the first quarter off a hard shot that hit the Minuteman goalie’s shoulder and bounced in. Meringer lofted a floater that caught the goalie off her line and settled in at the 7:30 mark of the second quarter. Thomas slotted a shot that snuck into the net five minutes into the third to give Belmont a 3-0 lead.

It turned out that each goal was needed as the Minutemen grew stronger – they hit the crossbar twice in the game – as the game progressed led by its talented junior forward Kirsty Carnan who was a handful for the Marauders backline, a group that won Graham’s praise.

“I have to say my four defenders really played well, Graham said describing the workrate of sophomore Sabrina Spalls, senior Grace Kane – who moved from the midfield – and returning stalwarts junior Ally Landers and senior Ashley Green.

“You know they were very very strong, they’re tough to beat up,” said Graham who acknowledged senior Rachel November was a standout controlling the middle of the field.

Senior Abbie Moran kept a clean sheet in the first two quarters with a fine stop of a Carnan shot on her near side post. Junior Bridget Martin was busy for the entire second half giving up a Carnan goal in the final minute of the game to cut the margin of victory to one.

Belmont will host Lexington this Saturday, Oct. 11 at Harris Field at 4 p.m.

Boys’ Lacked Punch On The O Side Of The Ball Falling 2-0

While it was perfect fall weather to play a game – sunny in the upper 60s – it was a frustrating game for the Belmont High Boys Soccer as a lack of offense punch left the Marauders empty handed on the scoresheet falling to Lexington High Minutemen, 2-0, in the home and season opener on Saturday, Oct. 3 at Harris Field.

While Belmont’s midfielders and defenders kept the Minutemen at bay for the first two quarters, the Marauders – under new head coach Jean M Carlone Laforgue – couldn’t find the right combination of passes that would spring their forwards for clear shots.

Senior midfielder Ali Noorouzi had Belmont best chance when, in the second quarter, he ran onto a probing pass to the right of goal but couldn’t lift the ball over the on rushing goalie.

Noorouzi was Belmont’s Man of the Match whose work rate allowed the Marauders to hold the majority of possession in the first half. Senior center back Lars Gustav Bauerle controlled the turf in front of junior goalie Damon Reyes. Up front, senior forward Will Kivalatitu was the most threatening to the Minutemen backline.

Lexington where able to end the stalemate at 14:20 in the third through senior Lynn Jueppner from junior Eric Edmonds on a nice build up on the left wing. The same combination hit in the fourth as Jueppner got the brace from a strike in close between a pair of Belmont defenders at 14:26 in the fourth.

The remainder of the game saw Belmont attempting to find a way around a Lexington team packing the middle with little to show for their attempts.

Belmont visits Lexington at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 10.