Field Hockey: Belmont Defeats Arlington in Thriller, 1-0

Thrilling 1-0 games are not just being played in Boston and Detriot this week. One of the best took place on Belmont's Harris Field as Belmont and Arlington high schools battled in a classic match under the lights Wednesday night, Oct. 16.

And when the final horn blew, Belmont used a Serena Lally goal in the final minute of the first half and survived a missed penalty stroke and a disallowed goal to scrape by in a 1-0 nail biter.

The play between the Marauders and Spy Ponders was so intense that a pair of parents berated the referees for their calls after the game, a highly unusual occurrence at a field hockey match.

For Belmont Head Coach Jessica Smith, the game was won by the play of her back four defenders who held Arlington's league all stars Mary Grace Cronin and Abby Jones in check for the game. 

"This was our biggest win of the season because we held on to the lead and we didn't panic when they started attacking at the end," said Smith of her team whose record rose to 11-3-1. 

"Both sides played hard, fair and physical. It was a great game to watch," she said.

While Belmont came out to take the early part of the first half to the Spy Ponders, Arlington "scored" on their first deep drive into Belmont's goal area when an Arlington player reached up with her stick and slapped down the ball into the goal by Belmont's goalie Kate Saylor with 13 minutes to play in the half. 

But after first giving the goal, the referee by the net spoke with his colleague and then overruled his initial ruling, stating while the player was in her right to knock the ball into the net from the air, she hit the ball above her shoulders which is a violation.

In the dying minutes of the half, Arlington appeared primed to score again as the referee awarded them a penalty stroke – the equivalent of a soccer penalty shot – after a Belmont player covered the ball inside the goalie box. But Cornin hit the left post with her shot. 

"I was so nervous! I just dove and went the right way," said Saylor.

After surviving two close calls, the Marauders struck pay dirt when on the counter attack, freshman Anne-Marie Habelow out ran the defense and pushed the ball past the Arlington goalie where Lally swept it in by a diving Arlington defender with 43 ticks left in the half.

The second half saw Belmont take the play to Arlington, winning many of the 50/50 challenges while the four defenders allowed only one solid shot on Saylor while preventing Arlington a clear shot from their penalty corners. Cronin found herself hounded by a pair of Belmont midfielders including junior standout Suzanne Noone, only getting off one solid shot at goal which was stopped by Molly Thayer. 

"They are much more confident," Smith said of her back four: Thayer, Emma Resko, Olivia Castigno and Lauren Noonan.

"They are starting to look up and passing the ball rather then just hitting the ball somewhere. Considering that none of them played varsity back until this year, it's pretty remarkable how good they are."