Greg Levinsky
Anna Santos has looked forward to Soccer Night in Belmont for as long as she can remember.
First, as a youth player looking up to members of the Belmont High School varsity soccer team and now as a standout senior striker for the Marauders herself, Santos and the Belmont soccer community always mark down the annual event, the ninth edition of which is this Saturday, Sept. 21, headlined by a varsity double-header against Middlesex League rival Woburn. The girls (4-0) play at 4:30 p.m., followed by the boys (2-0-1) scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
“I remember watching the players run out and always used to think it was so awesome,” Santos said. “We’re playing a really good team this year, so we obviously want to win, but I just hope that we can make it really enjoyable.”
High school sports crowds vary in size depending on various factors, but the annual Soccer Night in Belmont all but guarantees a raucous atmosphere. Organizers expect more than 2,000 spectators.
“It’s the biggest community event that we have in terms of attendance,” said Pedro Santos, Anna’s father and co-president of Soccer Night in Belmont alongside Sean Goulding. “To have more than 2,000 fans at a soccer match, most kids don’t even get that in college. It also creates a lot of excitement for the youth program to see the older players playing, and the fact that they get to participate goes a long way.”
Goulding’s daughter, Nora, is a junior midfielder and recently picked up Boston Globe Player of the Week honors.
Soccer Night in Belmont extends far beyond the pitch, offering opportunities for youth and other Belmont groups to get involved. The high school chorus sings the national anthem. The school band plays before the game, throughout intermissions, and at halftime. Cub Scouts march out and act as the color guard for the first game. The Belmont Police Department follows suit for the second game.
Belmont Soccer Association youth players in grades 3-6 get to play mini-games on Harris Field at halftime of both games. Belmont Middle School players serve as ball kids throughout. In all, 1,200 players play for the Belmont Soccer Association, hoping to follow in the footsteps of the high school varsity players.
Unrelated to the night’s festivities but still an interesting note, Woburn’s girls coach is Paul Graham, a 1964 Belmont High School graduate who coached the Belmont girls for 30 years. Graham also headed the town’s recreational ski program for 40 years, started the high school’s boys lacrosse program, coached youth hockey for a dozen years, and served on Belmont’s recreation committee for 24 years.
Though it’s first-year Belmont boys coach Christopher Camille’s first Soccer Night in Belmont, he’s familiar with its longstanding success and importance to the community. Camille, formerly an assistant coach at Lesley University, initially heard of Soccer Night in Belmont when some of his former SFC New England club players participated in the event a few years ago.
He’s particularly looking forward to seeing the team participate in the international walkout, where each varsity player is paired with a youth player from their former team for a ceremonial introduction. Camille also noted the event’s celebration of the team’s and town’s diversity with a flag display along the fence for the dozens of countries represented by Belmont players and their families.
“Soccer Night in Belmont was a reason I was interested in coaching at Belmont,” Camille said. “There’s a lot of interested and invested parties in Belmont’s soccer community. It’s just a really cool celebration of the game.”
Jemmy Cange is in his fourth year leading the girls program and described the night as a “special environment.”
“It’s great to see the younger kids come out and have fun and then have an opportunity to play when they get older,” Cange said. “The main thing is how the community comes together.”
With Soccer Night in Belmont being a year away from a straight decade running, Marauder players embrace growing up in and around the event that shows off community pride like no other.
“It’s literally my favorite day,” Anna Santos said. “I just love how we all get together as one.”