Photo: Sophomore defender Elise Lakin-Schultz after scoring Belmont’s second goal against Natick to secure a 2-0 Sweet 16 win in the MIAA Division 1 Field Hockey tournament in Belmont on Nov. 6, 2024.

Relying on its record-setting defense and a pair of goals from the teams most reliable scorers in junior midfielder Mackenzie Clarke and sophomore defender Elise Lakin-Schultz, 5th-seed Belmont High School Field Hockey reached the Elite Eight of the state’s Division 1 field hockey tournament with a dominating 2-0 victory over Natick High School in a second-round matchup held at Harris Field on Wednesday, Nov. 6.

Belmont (18-2-0) continues its tournament run into the quarterfinals on Saturday, Nov. 9, as they face Andover High at the Warriors home field. The game gets underway at 2:30 p.m. Fourth-ranked Andover (17-2-1) reached the quarterfinal defeating Beverly, 1-0. The upcoming game comes 10 years to the week when Belmont lost to Andover, 1-0, in overtime in the Division 1 North quarterfinals in 2014.

The win comes on the heels of Belmont’s playoff opening round game in which the Marauders rode roughshod over Barnstable High, 5-0, last Thursday.

“Natick played us tough … but we dominated the play despite all of what they did,” said Jessica Smith, Belmont’s long-tenured head coach after the game. She also praised the defense from the entire team and especially the three backs – senior Ana Hopkins, junior Niamh Lesnik, and Lakin-Schultz – “who played phenomenal, they worked extra, extra hard.”

“I think that being super aggressive and going to every ball is something that worked well,” said co-captain Hopkins. In the third quarter, the Red Hawks crossed the midfield line just once and had its only penalty corner with three minutes remaining in the game. Final shot totals were seven for Belmont and one for Natick.

Since losing to Reading 2-1 on Sept. 13, Belmont (18-2) has compiled a 16 game undefeated/untied streak with 13 clean sheets. Over the regular and post season, Belmont has scored 93 goals while giving up 15, with first-year goaltender Zoe Bruce in the net who picked up the game in the spring.

In the Elite Eight match against Andover, “scoring on [penalty] corners with teams like in the top five is going to be key because it going to be tough to score on,” said Hopkins.

“The kids don’t remember what its like to loss, so they go out expecting to win every single game. I think with more energy, I’m expecting to win,” said Smith.