Here’s the weather forecast for Sunday, Nov. 2:

Windy with rain and snow showers in the morning changing to rain showers late. The high will be 42 F. Winds NNW at 20 to 30 mph. Wind chill will make the air temperature feel like 32 F. 

So for those hardy fans of Belmont High School Field Hockey, tomorrow will be a great chance to take out the winter storm outerwear as the squad travels to Andover to take on second-seed Andover High School in the MIAA Div. 1 North sectional quarterfinal match beginning at 6 p.m.

The 10th-ranked Belmont (12-4-2) will meet Andover (17-1-1), ranked 5th in the Boston Globe’s Top 20 Field Hockey teams, after both teams controlled their opening tournament games: Belmont dispatched 7th seed Danvers, 2-0 on Thursday, Oct. 30, while Andover stormed by 15th Methuen, 6-0, on Halloween.

Both teams have now played Danvers: Belmont dominated the Falcons on an unfamiliar grass surface. Andover, which has 1,734 students, won at home, 4-0, but could only score a single goal at Danvers.

Andover, which lost to Chelmsford on a cold, wet night three weeks ago, is led by goaltender Megan Hartnett who has 16 shutouts this year. The Golden Warriors are led by forward Tori Roche, who despite missing three weeks with an injury, returned to have a hat trick in the Methuen game.

It was hard enough that the Belmont High School Field Hockey had to board a bus and travel for 45 minutes to play in their playoff opener against Northeastern Conference championships Danvers High School on Thursday, Oct. 30.

The potential difficulties of playing on the road in the MIAA Div. 2 North sectionals were only heightened when the Marauders saw the pitch they would be battling.

Grass. While a decade ago playing on a natural surface was just part of the game, today, with the rapid proliferation of synthetic Tuff fields, many teams will not play on grass for an entire season.

Not only was the surface uneven, the field outside of Danvers’ newly constructed high school had a noticeable drop from the north to the south end of the field.

Danvers’ Head Coach Jill McGinnity was banking on that familiarity to pressure Belmont for the entire game.

“Field hockey is a completely different sport on grass than turf, so being on grass right away certainly helps because we practice on it all the time,” she told the Salem (Massachusetts) Daily News. “We’d love to be able to make a nice little run (in the postseason.”

Belmont’s head coach, Jessica Smith, was not as enamored playing a tournament game on the natural stuff.

“This is a … ,” Smith said, finishing the sentence with a colorful term to describe the field’s condition.

“Grass slows everything down, so you have to hit much longer balls to move upfield,” said Smith. “And we are a pass-oriented team, so we have to make some adjustments.”

Despite reservations on how the grass would impact their game, Belmont’s higher skill level and total team approach soon showed itself as the Marauders defeated the Falcon’s, 2-0, to advance to the quarterfinals.

The Marauders will play the winners of the match today, Oct. 31, between second-seed Andover High School and 15th-ranked Methuen High. The time and place for the quarters have yet to be determined.

Due to upsets of the third-seed Reading, Wilmington and 11th seed Lexington, Belmont and Watertown (who play in Division 2) are the last remaining Middlesex League teams in the tournament.

After a cautious start, Belmont’s quality soon dominated the Falcon’s athleticism as the Marauders controlled possession in Danvers’s end of the field for the final 20 minutes of the first half.

Led by midfielders senior Suzannne Noone and Olivia Castangno and junior Serena Nally occupying the center of the pitch, Belmont clogged the long-ball passing lanes as Danvers attempted to break into the Belmont end.

With some time on the ball, Belmont’s forwards adjusted their passing technique with slightly harder shots as the receiving players moved to the passes. Out on the wings, seniors Beth Young and Haley Sawyer were finding a straight move to the goal was paying dividends.

Belmont could concentrate upfront as its back line proved a tough challenge for the Falcon attack. Junior defender Molly Thayer and senior center back Emma Pejko stalked any forward with possession entering their zone, using good stick technique to knock balls from their opponents.

Belmont’s pressure soon resulted in a series of penalty corners – the Marauders would have seven in the first half while Danvers was shutout – allowing sophomore midfielder/defender AnnMarie Habelow to move up to the 16-yard scoring circle and become the focal point of the attack.

Belmont’s first score occurred when Habelow took a shot in close that got by Danvers’ goalie Julie Webster, which was steered in by junior forward Kerri Lynch with eight minutes remaining in the half.

Both Sawyer and Habelow nearly doubled the lead but for a new rule (Habelow’s backhand shot which was “rising with acceleration” is now considered a dangerous play) and a leg save from Webster.

With time running down and Smith urging the girls’ to “Get one more,” the team responded as Habelow’s directed a shot to the stick of sophomore forward Julia Chase five meters out for the goal with a minute remaining in the first.

It was 10 minutes into the second 30 minutes before Belmont goalkeeper senior Kate Saylor made her first save as Belmont’s offense peppered Webster, with another Habelow score taken away due to the new dangerous rule.

Danvers did begin to find their range late in the half, requiring the Belmont “D” to chase down some long breaks. Saylor made a strong pad save off junior forward Kristen McCarthy with help from Castagno and Habelow got her stick low to stop another shot from McCarthy.

“I love this team because everyone touches the ball throughout the game. We have our superstars, but they know we play better as a team that builds up from the back and work everyone into the game,” said Smith.

It was an extraordinary sight at Harris Field Monday night, Oct. 20.

Each of the 11 starters for the Belmont High School Field Hockey squad in its match against Woburn High was a senior, an extremely rare event ever to happen, according to Belmont Head Coach Jessica Smith, now in her 11th year coaching the Marauders.

“I had to suspend Olivia [Castagno] to do it,” said Smith of her co-captain, one of a dozen 12th graders on the field Monday.

“Hey, don’t say that!” said Castagno, who is actually injured and forced to the sidelines.

It has become a tradition for Smith to start the final home game with her seniors as part of the “Senior Night” celebration. While technically the Marauders’ actual last regular season match is Wednesday, Oct. 22 against Lexington, the weather Monday was expected to be far more accommodating then midweek when a rain front will stall over Belmont.

Running through a tunnel of sticks held up by the few remaining underclassmen before receiving a bouquet of yellow flowers from Smith and greetings from their family, are:

Bridget Treanor, Hillary Fay, Lauren Noonan, Emma Peiko, Haley Sawyer, Cara Bumcrot, Katheryn Kennedy, Beth Young, Jacqueline Hill, Kate Saylor and co-captains Suzanne Noone and Casagno.

As for the game, Noone provided three assists to lead Belmont to a 5-0 victory to give the Marauders a 10-4-1 record with two games remaining in the regular season. With a pair of wins, Belmont’s final home game could likely be a home playoff match in November.

A minute after walking off the pitch with a 3-1 home victory over a strong Winchester team Monday, Sept. 29, there was a bit of complaining coming from the Belmont High School Field Hockey players.

The grumbling was not about rulings on the field or the actions of the Sachems during the match. The Marauders were grousing about how they had individually performed on Harris Field. They just weren’t playing to a new standard they were setting for themselves.

The complaining left Belmont’s Head Coach Jessica Smith mystified.

“You won the game! That’s all that should matter to you guys,” Smith told her team, currently 6-2-0 for the season with its only two losses to undefeated ranked opposition.

“They dominated the game but they didn’t feel that they did,” Smith told the Belmontonian.

Smith said the players are setting high-performance expectations in every game before them. Part of that comes from a superb performance just two days prior when the Marauders defeated Lexington, 4-2, to secure second place in the league.

“I think they have higher standards for themselves than I have for them, and I love that,” said Smith.

On Monday, Belmont played a strong midfield game led by senior co-captain Suzanne Noone who was tireless running the 70 yards between the attacking and defending striking circles and leading the team with take-away and shots on goal with eight.

“We were connecting a lot more of our passes at Lexington and finishing a lot of our goal chances which we didn’t here,” said Noone.

The Marauders could not have had a more advantageous start with junior forward Kerri Lynch – coming off her hat trick against Lexington – scoring on the first shot of the game at 27:50 off a smart pass from Noone.

Yet despite having several chances inside the circle, “we never seemed to have get the touches on the post where we usually score,” said Smith, who also said a sense of complacency creeped into the overall play “because the players just thought, ‘we’re gonna win’ and that’s what happens when you begin to win a lot.”

Winchester (4-5-0) plugged away for the second part of the first half and scored in close through junior Melissa Zavez.

The visiting Sachems took the game to the Marauders early in the second as the team relied on senior goalkeeper Kate Saylor and the Belmont back line until the offense perked up after five minutes. The Marauders open the field with nice passing and long runs to take control of the match.

Their efforts were reward midway through the second when Noone picked up a rebound off a slapshot from just inside the 15 meter circle to rocket in the goal at 17:50 with an assist going to Olivia Castagno.

“I got a nice hard shot off,” said Noone.

Five minutes later, Belmont finished the scoring with a Beth Young tally at the right post with Kate McCarthy providing the pass.

The Marauders enter their away game Wednesday, Oct. 1 against a strong Wilmington team (4-3-2 with a win against Lexington) with a four-game winning streak.

“I think we’re going to have a very strong rest of the season. The fact that we beat Lexington, one of the best teams in the league, is telling. We certainly are connecting passes so much better than we did last year,” said Noone.

.

The collective mindset of Belmont High School Field Hockey was on one salient fact as it took the field against host Lexington on a sunny and hot Saturday morning, Sept. 27.

“We knew this was a big game,” said Belmont’s junior forward Kerri Lynch, as Belmont, Lexington and Winchester were in a logjam for second in the Liberty Division of the Middlesex League behind undefeated Reading Memorial High School.

“This could solidify our place going into the playoffs, so, yeah, it was huge,” said Lynch.

And at the end of the hour of play, Belmont left the pitch with a statement victory as the Marauders put in a pair of second-half goals – both part of Lynch’s first career hat trick – to take down the Minutemen, 4-2, to set their place as a top team in the league.

“My team is awesome,” said Belmont’s Head Coach Jessica Smith after the game.

“So far our wins have been against teams that are under .500. But to show that you’re a good team, you have to beat the really good teams and we just proved it,” Smith told the Belmontonian after the game.

Belmont took the lead just four minutes into the game as Lynch hit her first by rounding Lexington’s goalie and doubled the lead midway through the period with a quick shot from forward Kate McCarthy. Despite being tied up, 2-2, early in the second half, the Marauders went out in front with Lynch’s second tally less than three minutes later.

“Everyone on the field touched the balls that led to our goals. They are stringing passes from the back to our forwards,” said Smith.

The victory was a complete team effort as Belmont won most of the individual battles on the field as they took the game to the Minutemen who defeated the Marauders last year in the first round of the Div. 1 playoffs.

One such match up occurred with 12 minutes remaining in the game with Belmont leading 3-2. A Lexington pass down the Belmont left wing sent a pair of Minutemen towards Belmont goal with senior defender Emma Pejko the last line of defense.

Pejko left the player she was marking to attack the forward baring down on goal. Pejko lowered her stick horizontally to both stop the attack and then, after several seconds of a one-on-one duel down close to the turf, win possession.

“[Pejko] is the smartest player on our team academically and she seems to make the right choices on the field. She cognitively and innately knows what she has to do. That would have been a goal if she had not made that decision,” said Smith, who lavished praise on the back line of Pejko, Lauren Noonan, Molly Thayer and Annemarie Habelow.

“They work very well because they don’t just count on one person and that’s what you need to have a good defense,” Smith told the Belmontonian.

Dominating the midfield was senior stalwart Suzanne Noone who tracked down Lexington’s players attempting to move through the center of the pitch while Habelow, playing a high center defense, was quick to transition the attack with long passes deep in the Minutemen end.

The game’s final goal – which gave Belmont a two-goal cushion with four minutes left in the game – “was just a nice tip that was probably all luck. But they’re always good so we’ll take what we get,” said Lynch.

It’s going to be another tough challenge for the Marauders as they welcome Winchester to Harris Field for a Monday evening game, Sept. 29, at 6 p.m.

Belmont High School Field Hockey Head Coach Jessica Smith is never one who wants to pile on the score line.

“I feel so terrible,” said Smith as the team was ahead 6-0 with a minute left to play … in the first half of the Marauders game against visiting Stoneham High School on Friday, Sept. 12.

“I’m not that type of coach but what can I tell my team? Not shot?” she said, pulling off veterans to allow substitutes to play long stretches of the game.

By the end of a long day – the game started 45 minutes late due to travel problems for Stoneham – Belmont would score a pair of second half goals to win 8-0, creating a nice bookend for the week as the Marauders drubbed Melrose 7-0 on Tuesday.

“Two big scoring victories with lots of players getting goals but just as important, everyone got to play,” said Smith.

Kerri Lynch and the team’s midfield leader, senior Suzanne Noone, scored twice while starters sophomore Annemarie Habelow and Jacqueline Hill scored a goal each. Tallying goals off the bench were Kate McArthy and Hillary Fay. Goalies Kate Saylor and Nicole Crowley shared the clean sheet. 

“Gosh, this is a great team. We really don’t have a weak spot anywhere on the field and I have really good subs that I can put in who have been scoring and other good stuff on the field. It’s like I have a second layer in some positions,” said Smith.

And while the Marauders have put in 15 goals over the past two games, Belmont will be meeting teams with greater skills and talented players. On Wednesday, Sept. 17, the team travels to Reading Memorial High School, a team that “is always very hard. It’s a game that you really want to win and it’s hard every single time and it’s never easy,” said Smith.

The first two games of the 2014 seasons has been like night and day for the Belmont High School Field Hockey team.

It was like night when the Marauders visited defending state champions (and undefeated for more than four years) Watertown High in the season opener last Friday as the Red Raiders kept the Marauders in the dark on how to break down the four-time consecutive state champs, losing 4-0..

On Wednesday, Sept. 10, the light was back on for Belmont as they celebrated playing on their newly-renovated turf field for the first time with a convincing 7-0 drubbing of Melrose High on a cool night, Sept. 10.

Where Belmont was sputtering at times against Watertown, the team – and especially the offense – was playing with all cylinders running as six players scored and everyone played.

“Things that we have been hoping would occur actually did,” said Head Coach Jessica Smith.

“I was looking for Suzanne [Noone] and Annemarie [Habelow] to work well together and they did,” said Smith pointing to the most impressive goal of the night when the senior midfielder Noone fed the high-scoring sophomore Habelow a picture perfect pass into the attacking circle that the talented 10th grader buried in the back of the net from distance.

“I’m picturing that play many times this season,” joked Smith.

Yet Smith said the win was impressive because everyone played with “a real drive” after the first-game loss.

And that determination led to a battery of goals from a slew of players. Habelow scored twice with fellow starters Noone, Kerri Lynch and Julia Chase picking up one each while subs Jacqueline Hill and Kate McCarthy each got their first goals of the season.

Senior goalkeeper Kate Saylor shared the clean sheet with backup Nicole Crowley who kicked out a breakaway attempt late in the game to preserve the shutout.

With the midfield, led by varsity veteran Noone, communicating and working together better and the defense, backstopped by Lauren Noonan and Emma Pejko, being more assertive and confidence, the team “is showing they can compete.”

“But there are a lot of teams between Watertown and Melrose in talent so I want to see how we handle teams in the middle of the group,” said Smith.