Framingham High School

Photo: Belmont High senior mid Nora Goulding (number 5) readies to celebrate with goal scorer first year Clara Selandraski (21) after the midfielder scored the game-winning goal in Belmont’s first round tournament shut out of Framingham.

Early in the second half of a scoreless match in Belmont’s first round playoff game against Framingham, first year midfielder Clara Selandraski was unceremoniously dumped to the Harris Field pitch from a hard tackle. As she was preparing to launch the free kick 20 meters from goal along the left sideline, Belmont Head Coach Jemmy Cange came up to her with set play that orginated on the training ground.

Rather than pitching the ball “into the mixer” – the penalty area that was crowded with players – Jemme saw the Framingham goalie was favoring the left side of the box where the ball was expected to be placed. Following the classic advice of Baseball Hall of Famer Wee Willie Keeler: “Put’em where they ain’t,” Selandraski took a quick shot to the open right post. The play worked like a charm, surpising the goalie who could only follow the ball into the back of the net.

“The goal just put away the game,” said senior co-captain Danica Zicha “Then we calmed down, because [the game] won’t go to PKs. We’re winning now.”

“It was good that we finally get one of those goal that we really walk on practice all,” said Cange. “It was a great goal that came from the practice field.”

Asked if he should be awarded an “assist” on the goal, Cange said, “Oh, that goal was mine!”

Selandraski’s goal was the first of a pair of tallies in the second half that secured the Marauders a trip to the MIAA Division 1 Sweet 16 as Belmont shut out Framingham, 2-0. Belmont’s second came from Marauder ace scoring leader Zicha who slotted in her 31st goal of the season from 10 meters out with 18 minutes remaining in the match.

*Senior Danica Zicha, Belmont High’s ‘Der Bomber’, scores her 31st goal of the season against Framingham in the first round of the MIAA Div. 1 tournament*

“I saw the ball, and I just went for it. I was like, ‘No, that’s my ball’,” said Zicha who took the shot off the ground and despite the goalie getting her gloves on it, the ball broke through into the net.

Eight-ranked Belmont (15-2-2) will host ninth-seed Central Catholic High School (16-1-2) – the alma mater of White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt – in the rain on Monday, Nov. 10 at 6 p.m. The Raiders defeated Attleboro, 6-0, to advance.

The first 40 minutes saw both teams unable to put together a cohesive attack. While the offense was sputtering, Belmont defensive line put the kabash on the Falcon’s attemps to put pressure on Belmont junior goalie Martha Dimas.

*Belmont High junior goalkeeper Martha Dimas registered her 10th clean sheet of the season against Framingham.*

“We’ve been working with the backs for a lot. They’ve been stepping up since the whole season,” he said of seniors Farah Harris and Ashley Waters, junior Elizabeth Schreiner and sophomore Vianne Capitani. “They all went in there and did a wonderful job.”

The second half had the familiar feel of past Belmont matches with a dominance of the midfield – thanks to rangy junior Madhavi Ramadas and physical presence of sophomore Catherine Greiner – that freed up space for passes to first year winger Mackenzie Tierney and senior Nora Goulding, whose speed caused problems for the Falcon’s D-line.

What the team has to improve to take the win against a Central Catholic squad that lost a single game in the regular season (to Bishop Feehan, 2-1) and is one an 18 game unbeaten streak, will be about consistancy throughout the game.

“We definitely need to come out the way we came in the second half (against Framingham),” said Zicha. “We just need to play like that throughout the whole game. Obviously, there are gonna be a lot of nerves going into the second game, probably even more than against Framingham, but I think we can definitely do it. I think we come out strong just how we played in the second half. Everyone was connecting, everyone was talking, everyone was hyping each other up. I think if we do that, we’re gonna be like, unstoppable,” said Zicha.

“We have a slow start, but they keep fighting,” said Cange. “That’s the spirit of that team that we have all year. They never put themselves down. They keep fighting. And at the end, we were the better team, and we got the result that we wanted.”

Photo: Belmont’s fullback Adam Deese leads running back Tyler Reynolds late in Friday’s game vs. Framingham.

Last Friday night’s home opener for Belmont High football squad had all the appearance of the last second, nail-biting victory for the Marauders.

With 11 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter in a 20-14 game, Belmont had driven nearly 90 yards in five minutes to the Framingham High School Flyers 6 yard line and faced a fourth down and one yard to go.

But senior quarterback George Fitzgerald’s pass skimmed just over the fingertips of his receiver for an incompletion, allowing Framingham to secure its first 2-0 record in more than a decade while Marauders left the field at 0-2, having dropped last week’s season opener, 28-7, against a tough Milton High School team.

“First and foremost, that was a great football game. It was fun to coach in and fun for everyone to watch,” said Belmont’s fourth year Head Coach Yann Kumin.

“We’re not satisfied being on the short end of a close game … with an opportunity to score. We just need not shot ourselves in the foot. We turned the ball over twice in the first half, and one led to a score.”

Friday night’s game, which began 45 minutes late due to traffic that delayed Framingham arrival to Harris Field, saw Belmont’s defense spring to action with four takeaways including three interceptions of Framingham’s sophomore QB Jack Beverly. Leading the D-backs was senior Joe Viale who came up with a monster game including a pair of picks and a half dozen times breaking up certain completions.

It was Framingham’s ability to strike on special teams that proved the difference in the game as the Flyers were able to gain vital yards on kickoffs and punt returns. The game started with Flyers’ Christian Alicea returned the opening kick to Belmont’s 8-yard line.

After Belmont’s defense held and took over the ball at the 18, Fitzgerald was sacked on third down and apparently fumbled the ball despite appearing being down in contact with the turf. Flyer junior Chidi Nna recovered the loose ball for a TD after less than three minutes into the game.

Belmont’s second drive ended on a fumble at midfield but the Marauders to over on Vitale’s first interception. Late in the first quarter, Belmont’s senior Inside Linebacker Caleb Henman picked off Beverly with 1:15 to go. That turnover led to Fitzgerald finding senior wide receiver Jake Pollock who ran 12 yards into the end zone with 10 seconds left to give Belmont the first quarter lead, 7-6.

Framingham regained the lead in the second quarter when it took over the ball deep in Belmont’s territory. The Flyers then employed an offense more associated with rugby than football; placing all 11 offensive players within a five-yard “box,” handing off the ball to the back who would follow the scrum. With its size advantage up front, Framingham pushed its senior running back Isaac Blackman into the end zone. Missing its second two-point conversion, the Flyers led 12-7.

After Belmont’s offense failed to move the ball, the Flyers took over after another good punt return. After Viate knocked down a pair of passes thrown his way, the third time was the charm as Beverly hit junior Jon Lanzo in the corner of the end zone on a fourth-down and ten from the 18 yard line with 13 seconds left in the half. This time the two-point conversion was successful for a 20-7 visitor’s advantage at halftime.

“If we clean up those mistakes in the first half, we would have been in a better position in the second half,” said Kumin.

Belmont’s defense would stiffen and shut out the Flyers in the second half as the Marauders’ offense took the quarter to begin moving with confidence against a strong Framingham defense.

With senior fullback Adam Deese making much in each run against a defense targeting him, Fitzgerald started winging it out and found his senior receiving corp including senior Will Ellet for 12 yards and Pollard who fought off a pair of Framingham backs for a 30-yard touchdown reception midway through the fourth period.

Framingham began the next possession near midfield and drove the ball to Belmont’s 34-yard line when Viale snagged his second INT to give the Marauders the ball with 5:45 to play and 83 yards from pay dirt.

Fitzgerald found Pollard for 10 yards on a third down and Deese gained 15 yards on three plays before senior running back Tyler Reynolds took a pitch 15 yards to the Flyers’ 40 with 3:08 to play.

With Belmont facing a fourth and six from the 35, Fitzgerald got a Flyers lineman to move for a five-yard offsides penalty resulting in Deese plowing one yard for the first down.

A Fitzgerald scamper around the right edge gave Belmont a first and ten from the 16 with 43 seconds remaining. But a completed pass t0 Ellet and runs by Reynolds left Belmont looking at fourth down with 11 seconds remaining. The rest is history.

“I am so proud of my team. This team can make some noise in the league,” said Kumin. “This is a team that battles back when things aren’t going exactly the way it was supposed to go. They were driven in what they did and executed in big moments. I’m fired up for next Friday.”

Belmont’s next game is Friday, Sept. 22 at Haris Field against Woburn to begin the Middlesex League part of the schedule.