Claremont
While the undefeated Stevens High football team has been the main attention-grabber in Claremont, the girls soccer team has been going about its business this fall. While it has some hot pursuers, the Cardinals are alone atop the NHIAA Division III standings.
And they are not there by good fortune. They are there because they are excelling at three critical phases of the game.
First, the Cardinals’ 10-2 record is the result of a bushel of goals — 64 through 12 games.
Second, Stevens puts up a defensive wall at midfield.
Third, its fullbacks and goalkeepers have combined on seven shutouts, with only nine goals allowed all season.
And then there are some intangibles.
“We were unbeaten as eighth-graders, and we all get along,” said senior Audrey Puksta, who thought she had a good season last fall when she had 18 goals. She already has 27 this season. “There’s not a bad person in this bunch.”
There is also the unselfishness of players such as fullback Leann McCarthy, who never sees her name in the scoring column and doesn’t care.
“Scoring is not my job; we have other people who do that,” she said. “My job is to stop the other team from scoring.”
Senior midfielder Julia Belaire, coach Tom Belaire’s daughter, realizes that stopping the opponents from penetrating into the offensive zone is vital.
“I’m OK with everything,” she said. “I get an assist once in a while.”
How this season will end up is also beginning to play on the minds of the players. Not grabbing the brass ring might be a letdown.
“I think that’s what we’ve be shooting for since the eighth grade,” Puksta said.
Sydney Miller and Brooke Bonneau, two other Stevens seniors who’ve been on the team since the eighth grade, agreed.
“Definitely,” said eight-goal scorer Bonneau, who was ailing with a sinus infection and is looking at postseason surgery. “We want a championship.”
It took Miller about two seconds to answer in the affirmative as well.
“I would absolutely be disappointed,” said Miller, who has nine goals on the season. “That’s what we are playing for.”
Beyond that, there is the goalkeeping duo of senior Kaitlyn Chambers and sophomore Fionah Carbee. The duo has given up just nine goals all season.
In all, the roster makes Tom Belaire smile when he realizes he has a team that can not only score but can play the transition game and defend.
“I think we’ve got all the bases covered.” he said.
While Stevens is in first place today, there are six teams with three losses or fewer. And the other five — Belmont, Bishop Brady, Gilford, Campbell and St. Thomas — are not on the Cards’ schedule and are, for the most part, mystery teams.
There is also the rest of the regular season to deal with. Hopkinton, which had an appearance in Claremont postponed by a wet Monadnock Park pitch on Thursday, nearly upended Stevens on the road in a 1-0 game earlier this season.
“We had to get a goal in the last minute,” Tom Belaire said.
Also on the horizon is an Oct. 15 game at Sunapee against the undefeated and NHIAA Division IV-leading Lakers, who are the two-time defending champions and have won the D-IV title four times since 2011.
Lakers coach Myles Cooney said it was a rebuilding year for his Lakers, but coach Belaire smiled when it was mentioned that Sunapee reloads instead of rebuilds.
Both of Stevens’ losses came at the hands of Kearsarge. Belaire said the second defeat, 4-3 on Saturday, was just one of the those bad days and Kearsarge played the Cards tough.
The first loss to Kearsarge, 2-0, came on Aug. 28 in the second game of the season.
“We hadn’t been able to get out much,” said the Stevens coach, who hopes his team doesn’t have one of those hiccups when the tournament comes around
“One bad game, and it’s all over in the postseason,” he said. “We’re going to do our best to see that doesn’t happen.”