Photo: Senior Katie Guden on the move vs. Winchester.

The Belmont High School Field Hockey squad will be looking skyward during the upcoming playoffs, not so much for heavenly intervention than looking for dark clouds.

Ranked 4th in the Division 1 North Sectionals, the Marauders – which finished the season at 13-2-1 – will host the 13th seed Scarlet Knights from North Andover (8-4-5) in an opening round match to be played on Harris Field on Wednesday, Oct. 30 at 3:30 p.m.

While a much lower seed, North Andover plays in the competitive Merrimack Valley Large conference and have been on a roll, having not lost since Oct. 2.

As for the weather, the Marauders have discovered a drenching rain and its style of play is like mixing water and oil. Belmont’s two losses, against top-ranked Watertown (3-1) and Lexington (2-1), occurred during downpours when the Marauders’ strong defense and pass oriented offense were damped down by the wet weather. It didn’t help that the Marauders missed open chances in both games while in each match senior co-capt. Emma Donough hit the post on penalty corners.

“It really puts off our game,” said Belmont Head Coach Jess Smith, who has led the Marauders into the playoff for the seventh consecutive season and 13 out of the past 14 years.

So it shouldn’t have been a surprise that Belmont’s Senior Night game vs. Arlington on Oct. in a driving rain would be a close one. Despite defeating the SpyPonders 3-0 earlier in the year, Arlington have improved as the season has gone by securing its first playoff appearance since 2013 and coming into the game at 9-5-0.

While Belmont had only given up nine goals for the season, Arlington got on the front foot with three goals off break outs to lead Belmont, 3-2, at the half. But an early goal by sophomore attack Mia Meyers got the game level and Belmont would go ahead 4-2 by senior midfield co-captain Katie Guden on a scramble in the middle on a delayed call. Junior Goalie Kendall Whalen kept the Marauders in the lead on an outstanding boot save that landed into her pads before being swept away. Belmont finished the scoring with a tip by junior attack Emma O’Donovan off a blast from Donahue on the penalty corner after time had expired.

“This is a game that we needed. We didn’t panic when we were behind at the break and then took the play to Arlington,” said Smith.

After the Lexington loss, Belmont bounced back vs Winchester in a holiday matinee Oct. 14. In the bright sunshine, Belmont’s defense was stellar led by co-capt. defender Meaghan Noone who ran down and beat back countless chances. The Marauders scored early, the first from Donahue sending a rocket into the net from just inside the shooting circle off the penalty corner eight minutes into the game with the second coming three minutes later from O’Donovan

At 13-2-1, Belmont goes into the playoffs with its second best record in program history (the third time they held this mark) and a home playoff game in the bag and another if they win the opener. But there is still work to be done, according to Smith.

“I think we let our guard down a little bit when we’re ahead in games. I think we’ve been watching the ball a little bit too much and not really marking the kids down low and some easy goals are going in,” said Smith.

Photo: Emma O’Donovan is fouled by the Watertown goalie resulting in a penalty stroke goal by Emma Donahue for Belmont’s goal.

You could hear the sharp “thud” of the ball struck by Belmont High midfielder Emma Donahue off a penalty corner hit the back of the Watertown net across the entirety of Victory Field. It was just the start Belmont had dreamed of against the perennial Div. 2 state finalists: Five minutes into the game played during a downpour and the Marauders on the front foot in its match with the Raiders.

But rather than a celebration (or disappointment from the Raiders’ perspective), players, officials, coaches and just about everyone just … stopped. The ball had immediately ricocheted out into the field and for that second, it appeared everyone questioned what happened. A goal? Maybe?

When the officials made no indication one way or the other, the Raiders took the ball down the field and the game continued as if the entire sequence had been washed away in the rain. (The officials said they believed the ball had hit the right post.) What should have been the momentum Belmont needed to defeat Watertown for the first time in over a decade was not to be as the Marauders would fall to the Raiders, 3-1, on Wednesday, Oct. 2.

For Belmont Head Coach Jess Smith, the game came down to little advantages that Watertown had over the Marauders.

“I felt like they moved the ball a little bit better than we did today and a better sense of where the next pass should go,” said Smith.

The weather played havoc and resulted in the Raiders’ first goal as Belmont’s all-star defender Meaghan Noone lost her stick during a check which allowed Watertown to outman Belmont in front of the net and allowed for a scoop shot for a goal in close. The Raiders would double its margin off a penalty corner.

Donahue – who is a niece of Watertown’s Hall of Fame Coach Donahue – would get her goal on a penalty stroke after a foul by the Watertown goalie on Belmont’s top scorer Emma O’Donovan to bring Belmont within one, 2-1, four minutes into the second half. And the Marauders were a touch of a stick from knotting up the match a minute later when a screamer squeaked by the Raiders’ goalpost.

But that flurry would the best Belmont could muster as Watertown put nearly everything in its defensive coverage while taking advantage of overlapping the player with the ball.

The final Raider tally came from a penalty corner midway through the half.

Smith said especially in the second half her team wasn’t playing its typical game that relays on moving the ball upfield with medium to short passes and long solo runs. “We were trying to beat the other players with our sticks rather than passing it.”

Belmont would recover nicely the next day, Thursday, Oct. 3 when a rejuvenated Wakefield squad arrived at Harris for a game under the lights. Coming into the tussle on a seven-game winning streak, the Warriors had the first shot on net in the opening minutes.

Then Belmont reverted back to the crisp passing, dominating defense squad with senior co-captain Katie Guden showing why she is a candidate for Middlesex League MVP by dominating the pitch. Three goals in the first 13 minutes that included a pair by Guden iwth one an end to end solo rush that ended with a goal from more than 10 meters on the run.

It was a game that role players made their mark on the field including senior Ilana Gut who scored her first goal of the season while Ellie McLaughlin got back on the scoring sheet, joining her fellow sophomore Molly Dacey who tallied a brace.

Belmont won 6-0 for its seventh shut out in 10 games, as goalies Molly Calkin and Kendall Whalen shared the victory.

After a match with Burlington on Monday, Oct. 7, the Marauders will have back-to-back matches with squads at the top of the Middlesex Liberty league table with a trip to Lexington (9-2-1) on Friday, Oct. 11 at 3:30 p.m. then an early (10 a.m.) morning contest on the Monday Holiday with Winchester (8-2-0) at Harris.

It’s a second meeting with both opponents – Belmont battled the Minutemen to a 1-1 tie and beat the Sachems, 2-1, in a comeback win at Winny – with a league title on the line with a pair of victories securing a banner (or what will hang in the Wenner Field House once the construction is sorted out.)