Photo: Belmont’s Carey Allard (right) after scoring the first goal of the season as Belmont defeated Melrose, 5-0, in the season opener on Sept. 8. 

Girls’ Soccer: Belmont 5, Melrose 0

If you are looking for a high power opening act, you can’t get any better than Belmont’s Carey Allard.

In the last two opening games of the season, the 10th grader has scored a total of seven goals including a brace on Tuesday, Sept 8, as Allard spearheaded a quick Belmont High Girls’ Soccer team (1-0-0) to a 5-0 home win over physical Melrose High team to open the fall season. 

“She’s the real deal,” said Belmont head coach Paul Graham of his right wing.

Allard led a sophomore rush on the scorer’s sheet as fellow underclassmen Emma Sass and Eliza Filler – via a header in the second half – each tallied a goal in the contest with senior captain Kristin Gay scored the game’s third from in close after Allard tip-toed along the goal line before sending a nifty short pass to the midfielder at the 27 minute mark of the first half. 

Junior Georgia Parsons made her first varsity start a memorable one earning the shutout. 

After a first 10 minutes in which both teams missed stellar chances in front of the net, the game opened up at the 12 minute mark when Allard caught up to a Gay pass and snuck the ball by the Melrose keeper. 

Belmont doubled its lead two minutes later as Sass launched a high-arching shot into the net after the Marauders swarmed the Melrose’s goalie box causing a great deal of confusion. Allard pocketed her second goal with an assist from Filler at the end of a series of quick passes inside the Melrose 18 meter zone. Allard could have doubled her goal total if not for a blown kick in front of an open net and another drive hitting the crossbar. 

In winning his 299-game in a career beginning in 1993, Graham praised the work of his very young team especially the defenders – made up of a pair of freshmen, a sophomore and a junior – including frosh Megan Tan and junior Rachel Berets “who has been unbelievable on the back line tonight.”

Belmont hosts Stoneham on Thursday, Sept. 10 at 6 p.m.

Boys’ Soccer: Melrose 0, Belmont 1

A goal from senior Arreg Krikorian with 10 minutes remaining in the first half was all the scoring Belmont would need as the Marauders began its 2015 campaign with an important away win at Melrose on Tuesday, Sept 8.

In a game in which the physical contact was ever present, Belmont used its conditioning and ball movement to control the time of possession at the later stages of the first half.  

Belmont’s breakthrough came in the 30th minute as a through ball into the 18-meter box from junior Daron Hanparian reached Krikorian who touched once before clinically finishing.

Matt Thompson‘s first varsity game was also his first shutout in the nets.

Second-year head coach Brian Bisceglia-Kane will lead the Marauders into Stoneham on Thursday, Sept. 10 at 4 p.m.