Photo: Belmont High junior co-captain Mackenzie Clarke

Belmont High senior co-captain Ryan Brodigan’s game-winning goal with three minutes remaining followed by a match saving stop by first year netminder Zoe Bruce with less than 10 seconds left on the clock securing a key 3-2 victory over a top-ranked Winchester squad on Tuesday, Sept. 24 at Harris Field.

The afternoon matinee was a back and forth affair that was contested between the scoring circles with both team’s outstanding junior midfielders – Winchester’s Samantha Gal (2 goals) and Belmont’s Mackenzie Clarke (1 goal, 1 assist) – directing the offenses.

Belmont twice took the lead – through an early first quarter goal from Brynn Connolly and a spot penalty shot by co-captain Clarke in the second quarter – only to see the Red and Black answer back to knot the game entering the final quarter. The match was finally decided by the steady pressure applied by the Marauders which bottled up Winchester in its end of the pitch.

The game winner came when Belmont intercepted a Rossoneri clearing attempt. Clarke advanced the ball off the left side just outside the scoring circle than sent a low screamer that found Brodigan who slotted the ball into the back of the net with 3:07 remaining.

But Winchester would not get on their bus without a final say when the Red and Black had a clear shot at the net in the final ten clicks of the game. But Bruce, who was playing in her eighth ever game in the nets, denied the shot that would have stolen a win from Belmont’s grasp.

“I’m sure I burned 9,000 calories during the game,” Belmont Field Hockey Head Coach Jess Smith told her team after the match. Smith reflected on the total team effort that secured the victory.

“”It’s like what [Brodigan] said [after the game], ‘Everyone brought it today. Everybody worked as hard as they could for as long as they could.’ When I took kids off the field and gave them instructions, they made the moves I asked them to make.”

The victory was the fourth of seven consecutive win for the Marauders (9-2-0) keeping them in the mix for the Middlesex Liberty title. In the latest MIAA power rankings – which will determine the placement of the teams in the divisional playoffs – rated Belmont 10th in Division 1.

Belmont will welcome one-loss Reading Memorial – 6th in the Boston Globe top 20 poll – to Harris Field on Thursday, Oct. 10 as the 18th ranked Marauders will seek redemption for a 2-1 away loss to the Rockets in the fourth game of the season. The ball gets rolling at 4:15 p.m.

The Winchester victory had its origins a fortnight before after a disappointing performance against the leading team in the Middlesex Liberty division. After loss, 2-1, at the time an unbeaten Reading on Sept. 13, which left her team at .500 at 2-2, Smith identified fairly quickly the major problem plaguing the team.

“We may have had a slight advantage on the field, but with the exception of Clarke, we just weren’t taking that many shots on their goal. We didn’t give ourselves the opportunities we could have had,” said Smith.

So, on the next Sunday before a busy week on the pitch, Smith called an extra evening practice where the players had one objective: firing balls into the net. The extra work appeared to do the trick for the next three games as the Marauder took home three wins netted 17 goals.

Complimenting the reenergized offense has been the Marauders outstanding trio of defenders. Belmont’s backline of junior Niamh Leskin, sophomore Elise Lankin-Schultz with senior co-captain Ana Hopkins anchoring the middle of the defense proving themselves as one the league’s leading D-lines with the quickness to cover speedy forwards and the ability to slide into the offense on the counter attack.

“The backs are really pushing their forwards and midfield away from the [scoring] circle,” said Smith.

“Normally, I tend to hang back,” said Hopkins. “But Coach [Smith] was just talking about pushing up the field. It really helps to just go for the ball because Elise and Niamh can get back on defense quickly. We did that against Watertown (a good performance despite a 0-3 final score line) and when the forwards press, it definitely helps a lot,” she said.

Smith remains hopeful the team can continue to mesh the offense and defense to find success in the backend of the season.

“They really pulled through and got it done. That was a huge win so now we got to keep rolling.”