Sports: Field Hockey Tweaks D, Rights Ship as Watertown Looms

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Photo: Senior forward Katherine McCarthy scoring against Reading.

Belmont High’s Field Hockey Head Coach Jessica Snith still shakes her head and goes silent when she’s asked about “that” game. The one where Winchester scored four goals in the final 12 minutes to defeat the unbeaten Marauders, 5-4.

“Oh, I hate talking about it,” Smith said.

But two solid victories since has Belmont riding high again (8-1-0) and giving Smith a renewed sense of confidence as she and the team prepares for the regular season game of the year as Watertown, six-time consecutive state Div. 2 champion and winner of 148 straight games (as the Raiders prepare for a strong Lexington squad on Tuesday, Oct. 6) will travel the two-and-a-half miles down Common Street in both towns to Harris Field for the 6 p.m. match on Thursday, Oct. 8. 

On a blustery and cool Saturday afternoon, Oct. 3, the Marauders defeated a team they could not figure out last season, Reading, scoring four goals in the first half to ease past the Rockets, 5-0. 

The win puts Belmont in the Div. 1 North sectional playoffs, the earliest the Marauders have ever secured a ticket to the post season. 

“Now every game is to get up a higher seed so we can avoid the big schools (Andover and Acton-Boxborough) until late in the playoffs,” said Smith.

“Right now, this team is playing so well that we can challenge anyone (in the post season),” Smith said. 

Senior forward Katherine McCarthy scored the opener on an acrobatic shot from in close 11 minutes into the match. Morgan Chase tipped in a shot at the doorstep and Kerri Lynch got back into the scoring grove for the team’s third. Junior midfielder AnnMarie Habelow finished the scoring, her first from about 10 meters in front of the goal, the worst location a team could leave such a deadly scorer. 

On Thursday, the girls defeated Burlington, 7-1, on Thursday, Oct. 1. In that game, Bridget Gardner scored as McCarthy and Habelow each scored a pair. 

Smith said despite the Winchester loss – she has circled the date the Sachems will be visiting Belmont for the return match – the team has been growing in their teamwork such as multiple passes and stopping the other team from breaking out from their zone.

Smith has also tweeked the defense by changing a position player to add stickhandling and speed in the back line.

“We just want to make the change well before Watertown so it doesn’t feel like we’re doing something desperate,” said Smith, who said the Raiders “will be a tough squad [to meet] but so are we.” 

Next up for the girls is a trip to Wakefield on Tuesday, Oct. 6 before Thursday night’s big match.

Sports: Football Losses at Home, But Gains in Stature

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Photo: Belmont running back Mekhai Johnson

Belmont High School Football Head Coach Yann Kuman stood before his team moments after the Marauders found themselves on the short end of an 18-15 score against the Woburn High Tanners under the Friday night lights, Oct. 2.

“There’re no words to express how proud I am of this team right now,” said Kuman, after the team’s hard-fought encounter with the experienced Middlesex League squad.

“I say to you what I said to the guys in the huddle, you found your spot tonight. [Woburn] ran you out of the ballpark last year. You guys have more fight and more courage and more pride in what you are as football players and as men then any team I have been privileged to coach,” he said to the team.

In a near-complete turnaround in pose and technique from the previous week’s disappointing performance at Arlington, Belmont stayed with the Tanners for the entire game and had the ball with less than three minutes in the game before giving up the ball near mid-field.

“We’re just one better call, one better block, one better tackle away from a different outcome. There are a lot of these little individual moments that if it goes the other way, we are winning,” said Kumin.

The big takeaway from the game was the improvement from Belmont’s defensive front seven. Led by linemen Justin Aroyan and Lowell Haska, the defense plugged up the middle of the field, making life miserable for Woburn’s running back Brandon Moscat.

The defense forced the Tanners on a three-and-out on its first series before giving up a Hail Mary 25-yard TD pass on fourth down and 10 yards from Tanner QB Tim Concannon midway through the second quarter to give the Tanners a 6-0 lead.

The score came after Belmont held the ball for nearly 10 minutes on its first possession behind the running of Ben Jones and Marauder star senior Mekhai Johnson, who carried the ball 19 times for 165 yards. The 15 play, 59-yard drive stalled at Woburn’s 30-yard line but demonstrated a confidence in the offensive line and the running game.

“I thought the offensive line really came out to play today and did a great job,” said Kumin.

After the Woburn score, Belmont took the ball and behind Johnson’s running and critical passes from Belmont QB Cal Christofori to receivers Trey Butler (6 yards) and Joe Shaughnessy (11 yards), the Marauders drove the ball 54 yards to score on a Johnson one-yard run around the left side, taking a 7-6 lead into the half.

With Jones out of the game since the second quarter, Johnson was the man as he carried the ball six consecutive times to start the third quarter before Belmont was forced to punt.

Woburn appeared ready to give the ball right back as it faced a second down and 17 from its 13-yard line. But a facemask penalty and its ability to make a series of third-down plays allowed the Tanners to march down the field to take the lead, 12-7, on a Moscat one-yard run a minute into the fourth quarter.

Woburn was back on the march a minute later after a Belmont three-and-out that included a 29 yard Moscat run to the Belmont 19. A few plays later, Concannon snuck the ball over the goal line to give the Tanners an 18-7 lead with 5:47 left in the game.

But on the first play from scrimmage, Johnson uncorked an eye-popping scamper around left end and sprinted 74 yards for the TD, his third 70-plus yard touchdown run for the season, cutting the lead to 18-15.

Woburn’s attempt to seal the win by running the ball and taking time off the clock was turned on its head as Aroyan stripped the ball from Moscat and Belmont recovered the ball at their 36 yard line with 2:30 seconds remaining in the game.

On a third and two from the 44-yard line, Christofori’s pass to Rob Aiello was knocked out of the receiver’s hands by a vicious, but legal hit at the Woburn 45 yard line. After waiting for five minutes before resuming play, Belmont’s fourth down play didn’t make it past the 46-yard line. Woburn was able to take the time down to a few seconds before giving it back to the Marauders, effectively ending the game.

For Kumin, the game showed the best of his team as it continues to improve in the tough Middlesex League.

“That was a great football game,” a physically exhausted Kumin said.

“I thought our defense found itself a bit. Obviously, [Woburn] is a team that can do some things and I thought we shut them down pretty well. They squeaked out of here with a three-point victory. We were one play away on that last drive from making it really interesting.”

Next up for Belmont is Reading High at Harris Field on Friday, Oct. 9 at 6 p.m.

Sports: Girls’ (3-0), Boys’ X-Country Take Home Opener over Woburn

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Photo: Senior Leah Brams (left) on her way to first against Woburn. 

It took nearly a month before Belmont High’s Harriers got to take a spin around the Clay Pit Pond course, but it was well worth it as a senior-led Girls’ Cross Country squad and a team-focused Boys’ team took victories over Middlesex League rivals Woburn on a warm, humid Wednesday, Sept. 31.

Leading the girls’ was its outstanding four-year starter senior Leah Brams who remains undefeated on her home course, winning in what for her is a pedestrian 20 minute and one-second romp around the 3.1-mile route. 

Following close behind in second was junior Sara Naumann in 20.35. Scoring valuable points for the varsity were freshman Audrey Christo in 5th (21:28), steady senior point magnet Sophia Klimasmith (21:37) in 6th and another fleet freshman, Eleanor Amer, in 7th (22:08).

Belmont finished with 21 points vs. 36 for Woburn. 

The Boys’ were not looking to set records but race for the points, which they did quite effectively as the Marauders finished 2nd through 5th to seal a 22 to 33 victory.

Senior Mike Ferrante (17 minutes and 47 seconds), sophomore Cal Perkins (17:52), sophomore Zach Tseng (18:15) and junior Manion Wilder (18:23). Finishing up the Marauders’ scoring was senior Ian Bowe in eighth (19:01). 

The next meet for the teams is against always strong Lexington on Tuesday, Oct. 6, at 3:30 p.m. 

Sports: Field Hockey’s Second-Half Collapse Drops Marauders from Unbeaten

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Photo: Belmont High School Field Hockey.

This one hurts.

After dominating 18th-ranked Winchester for nearly three-quarters of the match, a monumental collapse by Belmont High allowed the host Sachems to score four unanswered goals in the final 12 minutes of the game to shock Belmont, 5-4, handing the 19th-ranked Marauders’ its first loss of the season on Monday, Sept. 28.

“I’m currently still trying to get over the loss,” said an emotional Belmont Head Coach Jessica Smith.

“Although we talked about not being complacent, our level of play dropped and Winchester took advantage of our lulls. Defensively we made a ton of errors,” said Smith, whose team now stands a half game behind Winchester for the lead of the 

Demonstrating why it’s one of the highest scoring high school teams in Eastern Massachusetts, Belmont (6-1-0) raced to a 3-0 lead in the first 15 minutes of the game against one-loss (7-1-0) Winchester, its only defeat by five-time consecutive state champions Watertown.

Leading off the scoring was senior forward Katherine McCarthy from freshman standout, Morgan Chase, before junior AnnMarie Habelow showed why she is one of the best players in the state by scoring unassisted and then delivering the ball to McCarthy, who slammed home her brace.

Winchester finally got on the scoreboard at the 17-minute mark, but Chase returned the lead back to three two minutes later with an unassisted tally.

In the second half, Winchester pressed Belmont within the attacking circle and began winning penalty corner, which proved to be critical in the Sachems’ comeback. Sophomore goalie Christina MacLeod had 10 saves on a busy night. 

Winchester senior Melissa Zavez led the charge back scoring with 12 minutes remaining from junior Julie Bockoff. Fellow senior Carla DiBiase brought the home team within a goal with 10 minutes remaining unassisted. Finally, senior Megan Drew tied the game up at the 55-minute mark and scored the winner with just three minutes remaining in the game. Three of the Sachems’ four second-half goals came from penalty corners. 

“We gave up too many defensive corners and we were losing our players after the initial shot, said Smith.

“I’m just hoping that we learned a huge lesson from this loss. If we’re going to lose, it’s essential that we learn something from it. I’d rather [that] lesson happen now than in the tournament,” said Smith.

The team will host Burlington on Thursday, Oct. 1 at 6 p.m. and will greet Reading on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 4:30 p.m., the second part of a Saturday matinee with Belmont High Girls’ Soccer. 

 

Sports: Belmont High Take Steps Back in Loss to Arlington, 42-14

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Photo: Belmont running back Ben Jones.

Belmont High School’s head football coach Yann Kumin was disconsolate crossing the Arlington High School football field after his team suffered a 42-14 drubbing by the host SpyPonders on Friday night, Sept. 25.

“We lost to them by the same score last year, and I know we can be competitive with this team,” said Kumin, whose squad drops to 1-2.

“We couldn’t do the little things, and we did not take advantage of our opportunities,” Kumin told the Belmontonian after a night of frustration that the program has not progressed as the coaching staff had hoped. 

Coming off an emotional victory the previous Friday – a final-minute win over Medford – and a solid week of practice, Belmont came to Arlington seeking to replicate the run/pass offense that proved to be a recipe for success for the Marauders.

But from the start, Belmont could not find a rhythm on either side of the ball. Last week’s star performer, senior running back Mekhai Johnson, was never the explosive factor as he was against Medford when he gained more than 200 yards rushing.                                                                     

On its second possession, the Marauders fumbled the ball deep in its end as the SpyPonder pounced the miscue and soon found itself in the end zone for a 7-0 at 1:31 in the first quarter. Belmont’s next sequence of plays told the glum tale of the night’s proceedings; the kickoff return went for negative yards as Belmont started from its 5-yard line. The Marauders’ offense stalled on three plays, and the subsequent punt traveled only 20 yards. Arlington capitalized by going 24 yards in six minutes to score its second TD. A third SpyPonder touchdown quickly pegged Belmont with a 21-0 deficit with less than two minutes remaining in the half.

With time running out in the half, Belmont turned to junior QB Cal Christofori who engineered an impressive 10 play, 80 yard drive with passes to junior receiver Trey Butler and seniors Justin Wagner and Joe Shaughnessy before dumping the ball to Johnson in the flat who scampered 21-yards in for the touchdown with 38.8 seconds remaining to cut the lead to

But on the subsequent kickoff, Arlington sophomore Alijah Woods took the ball 80 yards down the left sideline for a momentum killing touchdown, to up the halftime lead to 21, 28-7. 

With Arlington threatening early in the third quarter, the Marauder defense recovered a fumble as Arlington running back Patrick Conroy attempted to stretch the ball into the end zone. But two plays later, Christofori’s pass was intercepted by defensive back Abel Negussie, who ran it into the end zone for a “pick 6” touchdown and an insurmountable 35-7 lead.

Johnson would score on a one-yard TD to give him five touchdowns in the past two games.

The Marauders will be back home on Friday, Oct. 2 when they greet 1-2 Woburn High School at Harris Field.

 

 

Sports: 18th Ranked Field Hockey Beats Lexington, Big Game Monday at Winchester

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Photo: Serena Nally leading the Belmont offense against Lexington.

Facing its toughest challenge of the season, Belmont High School Field Hockey took advantage of its scoring chances and the defense chalked up another shutout to beat visiting Lexington High, 2-0, on Friday afternoon, Sept. 25 at Harris Field.

“I was sweating for all 60 minutes,” said Belmont Head Coach Jessie Smith as her squad remained undefeated at 6-0 with five shutouts and seeing the Marauders enter the Boston Globe Top 20 Field Hockey poll at 19th.

“We haven’t been in a tight game this year,” said Smith.

“We weren’t playing that well; we were nervous. We saw the name “Lexington” and in the past they’ve been a powerhouse. Today, they had some solid players, but I think we could have stepped up a little bit more. But we got the job done.”

The win over Lexington (4-2) keeps Belmont atop the Middlesex League Liberty Division as the season hits its midpoint at the end of the week.

There is no let up of the pressure on Belmont as it visits 6-1 Winchester High (ranked 18th in the Globe poll) on Monday afternoon, Sept. 28.

Two Marauders continued impressive scoring streaks as freshman Morgan Chase (four goals in the last four games) and senior Kerri Lynch (11 goals for the season, scoring in each game) tallied to improve the Marauders’ scoring totals to 31 for and 2 against.

Chase said her goals were coming from “staying wide and staying open for the ball when it goes through the middle.”

“[Chase] is the player who can get the rebounds off the pads to knock it in and that’s why she’s a great right wing,” she added.

In the most competitive game of the season, Belmont found itself relying a great deal on the back three – Sophia Stratford, Molly Goldberg and Lilly Devitt – and sweeper Molly Thayer who set up in front of goalie Christina McLeod. The defense was able to run with and push out most Lexington ventures inside the Belmont shooting circle (inside 15 meters from the goal) with Thayer intercepting many attempted passes in the zone.

Coming back to help out the defense were junior leaders Julia Chase and AnnMarie Hebalow who was under the weather for several days before the match. The pair won nearly all their one-on-one encounters including a classic battle at the 20-meter mark where Hebalow fought a Lexington forward for 10 seconds before taking possession.

After surviving three corners and one deep run towards its goal, Belmont’s offense began to take hold to the game, as midfielder and senior captain Serena Nally took control of the center of the field, setting the offense attack and keeping pressure on the Lexington midfielders, creating turnovers on the transition.

“She was our MVP today,” said Smith of Nally, noting how she “stepped up all over the field, she was where ever the ball was defensively, but she really took charge today. We were down a little bit offensively today, and she took that position right up and delivered the ball.”

Belmont’s forwards – Lynch, Chase, and Katherine McCarthy (four shots) – never allowed Lexington’s defenders and midfielders a chance to catch their breath as they pushed down the wings and through the center to keep the Minutemen on the back heel. 

It was a drive from the wing by defender Devitt which set up Chase in close to slotted the ball by the Lexington goalie at the 18 minute mark in the first to give Belmont the only goal it needed. 

And the sniper Lynch took advantage of a Nally push and netted the ball with 12 minutes remaining in the match. 

 

Sports: Graham Takes 300th Victory as Belmont Shuts Down Lexington, 1-0

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Photo: Belmont High head coach Paul Graham and the team after the coach’s 300th victory.

The white polo shirt said it all.

“300 WINS

Belmont Girls’ Soccer”

It took a little longer than he had hoped, but, finally, Belmont High Girls’ Soccer head coach Paul Graham secured his 300th victory with a 1-0 shutout victory at Lexington on a brilliant fall Thursday afternoon, Sept. 24. 

Sophomore forward Carey Allard’s goal midway through the first half was all the Marauders (3-3-0) needed to break a three-game losing streak and hand Graham the landmark victory.

“I’m thrilled,” said Graham, who has held the helm since 1993.

“This is a big weight off my shoulders and … the girls’ shoulders. After the loss to Woburn, a few had tears in their eyes because they thought they let me down. I don’t want that,” said Graham.

When asked where he placed the accomplishment, Graham said he’s been lucky to have been “able to coach in Belmont, growing up in the town, living here all my life. To reach this success in my own hometown, it’s just great,” he said.

After the final whistle sounded, Graham received a congratulatory hug from his assistant, Stacey Marino, while the team headed across the field to return with each player holding a placard spelling out “300!” The Lexington team provided Graham the game ball and the Belmont team presented their coach the celebratory polo.

“This is what it’s all about,” said Graham as he followed his happy team off the field.

“This is why I coach and this is why I’ll continue to coach. Just to see the smiles on these kid’s face. It’s worth a million dollars,” he said. 

Just being able to coach in Belmont, growing up in the town, living here all my life. To reach this success in my own hometown, it’s just great. 

 

Sports: With a Third of Season In, Field Hockey In Playoff Shape

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Photo: Belmont High Field Hockey’s co-captains Serena Nally (l) and Molly Thayer (r) and junior AnnMarie Habelow (center).

Belmont High School’s Field Hockey team lost a boatload of seniors to graduation from last year’s 11-4-2 squad, starting the 2015 season with a defense corp of underclassmen learning how to play as a cohesive unit.

So you would expect the Marauders to be treading water in the competitive Middlesex League Liberty Division during the first weeks of the new seasons.

But Head Coach Jessie Smith’s squad is doing just swimmingly. After another workmanlike victory Tuesday night, Sept. 22, a 7-0 win over Woburn, the Marauders have completed a third of the season undefeated at 5-0. 

Just as impressive as its record is Belmont’s scoring prowess, slotting in an Eastern Massachusetts-leading 29 goals. Only one other team, Quaboag, has matched the Marauders’ proficient rate.

What gives? 

“I sometimes ask that same question,” said Smith, who is entering her 13th season as head coach.

While Smith said the schedule has helped – only Wilmington, which Belmont dispatched quickly, 4-0, last week, has a .500 record – much of the early season’s success generates from a core of two- and three-year starters who’ve played together and know their way around a field hockey pitch.

That list starts with one of the most dominate players in Massachusetts (and the region) in junior midfielder AnnMarie Habelow on the pitch. The Division 1 Louisville-commit has been deadly within the shooting circle, sending whippet-like shots that scatter defenders and test goalies. 

But Habelow is not merely a shooting machine. The three-year starter’s arsenal includes fast and accurate passes, the skills to weave through defenders like Mikaela Shiffrin heading down a hill and the ability to lift the ball over a line of midfielders to clear the area and change the flow of play.

IMG_0860

Joining Habelow in the attack is senior forward Kerri Lynch, who has tallied ten goals scoring in each game, and senior co-captain Serena Nally, who registered a brace Wednesday, as did Lynch and Habelow. 

Youngsters are coming to the fore such as defender Lilly Devitt, midfield Bridget Gardiner and Morgan Chase (scoring a goal in each of last three games) joining veteran junior Julia Chase on the wings where they each have a deft touch with their sticks. 

The key to the defense is senior co-captain Molly Thayer, who Smith has positioned as a sweeper. Thayer’s job is straight forward; use her speed and defensive skills to track down offensive player who gets by the defensive line and running down any attempt heading towards sophomore goalie Christina MacLeod. 

“Molly plays a big role in every game. The defense doesn’t see much action, but that’s because she is stopping the plays before it gets to them,” said Smith. 

That young backline – which includes Thayer, Devitt and Molly Goldberg – will be tested in the next two games as the Marauders host rivals 4-1 Lexington on Friday, Sept. 25 at 3:30 p.m. and a resurgent Winchester squad, at 5-1, in Winchester on Monday, Sept. 28.

“It will be interesting to see how our defense reacts to a very strong offense that we haven’t seen yet,” said Smith.

Five Belmont Seniors Named National Merit Scholar Semifinalists

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Photo: (from left) Andrew Giorgio, Maggie Liu, Anya Zhang, Principal Dan Richards, Emma Pierce-Hoffman and Kaiwen Zhang. 

Five Belmont High School seniors were named 2016 National Merit Scholarship Semi-Finalists by The National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

Andrew Giorgio, Emma Pierce-Hoffman, Maggie Liu, Anya Zhang and Kaiwen Zhang join 16,000 other semifinalists from across the country in the competition for nearly 7,600 scholarships worth $33 million that will be given out in the spring of 2016. 

To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the finalist level of the competition. About 90 percent of the Semifinalists are expected to attain finalist standing, and more than half of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship and earning the title Merit Scholar.

Sports: Girls’ Soccer Falls to Steel of League to Drop to .500

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Photo: Belmont’s Emma Sass (10) and Kristen Gay (24) attempt to head the ball during the team’s match with Arlington. 

It was a learning experience for the young Belmont High School Girls’ Soccer team as they met the steel of the schedule, falling to the Middlesex League’s dominant teams this week.

The Marauders lost to host and defending Middlesex/Liberty champs Wilmington, 5-1, on Thursday, Sept. 17 before greeting Arlington High for a noon matinee at Harris Field on a hot Saturday, Sept. 19.

But home cooking did help Belmont (2-2) as they fell to Arlington, 3-1.  

While Belmont played well in spurts, it could not control the midfield against a physical SpyPonder crew who were able to string short combination passes through the heart of the field to put Belmont’s young back line (two freshmen, a sophomore and a junior) on the back foot.

Due to the pressure, the Marauder midfielders were required to help out which left Belmont’s forwards on their own to bring the ball upfield. 

“Our midfielders have to be more aggressive to the ball,” said Belmont Head Coach Paul Graham who remains a game away from his 300th victory. 

“For two games in a row, we lost the midfield and we can’t our attack right because we are on our heels when we need to go forward. When we did that, we had some great plays because we are pushing it where we should be going,” said Graham. 

Arlington scored in the first 10 minutes on a flukish shot by forward Mackenzie Roy that floated over Belmont goalie Georgia Parson into the net. 

Arlington was comfortable to keep the ball in the middle of the field while Belmont’s best offensive target was sophomore left wing Carrie Allard who was out sprinting the SpyPonder defenders. But Arlington alway appeared to have players coming back to help out at any semblance of a Marauder attack. 

Graham praised the play of sophomore defender Natalie Marcus-Bauer who he said was able to dictate the play in front of her, forcing the Arlington forwards to take shots and passes they didn’t want to. 

“She’s a leader back there,” Graham said. 

While Belmont started the second half with a couple of deep runs toward’s Arlington’s goal, it would be short lived as Arlington’s physical play – challenging each pass or run with a legal shove or bump – appeared to put the Marauders’ off its rhythm.

“That seemed to bother us,” said Graham.

With 10 minutes remaining, Arlington’s Anna Kohlberg scored an open net goal coming off the wing to tap in a pass from the corner. notched two goals for the Spy Ponders, and Anna Kohlberg had a goal and two assists. Roy would collect her brace five minutes later as a result of three rapid passes that allowed the forward to turn and shot from 15 meters. 

Belmont would end the shut out when a penalty was called in the box with a minute left and Julia Rifkin buried a penalty kick inside the right post beyond the goalie’s hands.

Belmont is at Woburn on Monday, Sept. 21.