Greg Levinsky
When Sarah Yu first started playing soccer with the white team in the Belmont youth program, she opted to pick dandelions over scoring goals. Dana Lehr, Owen Filler, and Andrew Schreiner started playing soccer on the blue team together as neighbors coached by their fathers.
Fast forward to the present, and the four Belmont High School seniors, wearing sweatbands on their left wrists with the respective colors of their youth teams, participated in their final Soccer Night in Belmont last Saturday during an unceasingly rainy evening at Harris Field.
“I love Soccer Night every year,” said Yu, who nabbed Player of the Match honors for the girls’ game after clinching victory with her goal in penalty kicks. “This year is really special being a senior. Every moment was my last.”
“We all lived on the same street and were best friends growing up,” said Filler, who will play collegiately at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. “Soccer Night is the game of the year. Other than playoffs, it’s definitely the best thing.”
Two key details — the bands on players’ left wrists mirroring the color of their youth team and flags paying homage to their families — were ever-present tasteful touches during the annual varsity double-header this year against Middlesex League rival Woburn. The girls technically finished in a scoreless tie, but they won unofficially in penalty kicks to determine a winner as per event tradition. Junior Nora Goulding and seniors Yu and Lily Hovsepian each converted. The boys cruised to a 3-0 victory.
Blame the weather for the smaller-than-expected crowd, usually 2,000, but nonetheless, a lively umbrella-holding and poncho-clad bunch turned out. Organizers did their part in drumming up excitement, including strategically placing signs across the town akin to the political ones you’re used to that remained up through the day.
Prior to each match, players performed an international walkout, clasping the hands of youth players from the teams they once played for. Later, the youngsters provided halftime entertainment with scrimmages.
“The coolest part is walking out with the youth kids,” Filler said. “One day, some of them will be on the field.”
Belmont players wore special commemorative T-shirts made by Belmont’s Champions Sporting Goods, featuring both teams’ logos and the date, during warmups and on the sidelines throughout both games.
Thirty flags from countries scattered throughout the world lined the far fence. From Brazil to India and many places in between and beyond, the flags pay homage to the players’ heritages. For Yu, it’s China’s flag.
“It just shows how great Belmont’s community is and how well we come together,” Yu said. “This night is so representative of everybody.”
As always, admission was free. A group of 15 to 20 parent volunteers organized everything: music, announcing, decorations, and even a temporary tattoo station for young kids. Parents of Music Students (POMS) ran concessions, proceeds of which supported the district’s music programs.
Student involvement from all grades flanked the play on the field. Youth players served as ball kids. Local scouts performed as the Color Guard, and Belmont students sang the national anthem.
John Carson co-founded Soccer Night in Belmont nine years ago when his son, Jake (Belmont Class of 2018), was a junior. From the playing of Liverpool’s “We Live for the Nights We Remember” theme song during introductions to the Phoenix Cup trophy sponsored by the Phoenix Landing bar in Cambridge and its owner, former Belmont resident Kevin Treanor, Soccer Night in Belmont stays true to its roots as a community-first. It’s even modeled after an English Premier League soccer match.
In the years since the first event, Melrose, Reading, Needham, and Arlington started their own versions of Soccer Night.
“The rain — there’s nothing more English,” Carson said. “It’s a true community event where not a dime comes out of anyone’s pocket. I love it.”
