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Beaumont brought pomp and circumstance Sept. 26 to its match against visiting Lutheran West.

The Blue Streaks had a student section, an appearance at halftime by a combined Beaumont/Benedictine marching band — even an East Coast Custard truck in the back parking lot.

The occasion, in addition to senior day, was to dedicate Beaumont’s new St. Angela Merici Field — and the Blue Streaks hope the pomp and circumstance returns on the pitch in the long term as well.

Playing at St. Angela Merici Field marks a return to on-campus home matches for the first time since the mid-2010s, when the side transitioned to playing its home matches at Denison Park in Cleveland Heights from its grass pitch beside the school.

#NHsoccer @BlueStreaksAD senior Lexi Patton discusses her side's 5-0 win over Lutheran West as Beaumont dedicated its new on-campus St. Angela Merici Field Generally lively 80 & contributed a lovely free kick strike approaching the hour mark pic.twitter.com/Ix5CZkbLcW

— Chris Lillstrung (@CLillstrungNH) September 27, 2022

This fall also brings a transition in program makeup, as former longtime Hathaway Brown coach Dennis Weyn took over as director of soccer in February. He brought in Taylor Savarino as head coach and former Gilmour midfielder Madison Levand as an assistant.

Beaumont unveils Dennis Weyn as director of soccer, Taylor Savarino as head coach

Molding Beaumont into a program that could one day compete at a state-championship level, as he did in his HB days as a two-time state champion and longtime thorn for News-Herald coverage area sides such as Chagrin Falls and Lake Catholic, with the resources available and familiarity was deemed too good of an opportunity to bypass for Weyn.

"First of all, I like the school," Weyn said. "I think we always had nice rivalries with them. I like the way they do things, and I like the way they treat their athletes. I think it was time for me, I think, to get another challenge. I always look for that, whether it's high school or my own company with my club.

"My role is a little bit of a different model. They did ask if I wanted to be the head coach, and I told them I don't have time for it. I'd like to build it. I think there's possibilities, and I think with my experience and where I've been, I can make this into something that can really, really be good."

Weyn requested the ability to hold camps at Beaumont to help aid development of the program, as well as say over who would coach the side. With an all-girls school, Weyn deemed it vital to hire female coaches.

"And I found two gems, one in (Savarino), and Madison was great that she came on board as well," Weyn said. "She played for me since she was a little girl. I asked her if she was interested, and she was.

"They're all young, like 26 years old. We work very well together, and the goal is to really build a good program."

Heading into an Oct. 3 match at Parma, Beaumont sat at 7-6 on the fall, with some decent results in that mix, including wins over Chardon, Cuyahoga Heights and Cleveland Heights. The Blue Streaks dominated their pitch dedication match vs. Lutheran West, 5-0.

Beaumont vs. Lutheran West girls soccer: Blue Streaks bombard on new pitch’s dedication day, 5-0

A senior-laden side is aspiring for its second over-.500 campaign since 2012. The highlight of the last decade-plus was a 2019 season in which Beaumont started 10-3-1, when this year's seniors were freshmen. Unfortunately beyond that, general form has been a struggle for the side, with five coaching changes along the way.

Although a large senior class departs after this season, three of the Blue Streaks' top five scorers this fall are freshmen, including midfielder Cassidy McDonald, who has eight goals and 10 assists.

For seniors such as Ellie Olack, who had a brace and an assist in the pitch dedication match vs. the Longhorns, the new pitch is a game-changer in more ways than one, one she hopes will carry on for the program.

"Oh my gosh, it's so nice to leave school, change nice and slowly, we get our time and then we just go out to the field," Olack said. "We actually get the time to get our stuff on and warm up before we play.

"I think the continued sense of family (is what I want to see established long-term). We're looking at each other and trying to rebuild each other. I think we were really playing well together today. It shows that we are really close and we uplift each other. We always say we would run through walls for each other. I think that needs to continue in the (upcoming) years."

Weyn noted, after the aforementioned 3-0 win over Cleveland Heights on Sept. 17, he wanted to emphasize to the side it could be a stepping stone toward broader aspirations.

"You have to create a certain belief that you can really instill it into the group," Weyn said. "It's not me or the coaches. They are the ones that are on the field. That is huge. If they start feeling, 'Listen, we can do this,' that is half the battle."

Not to mention, having a brand-new on-campus turf pitch, hopefully with more pomp and circumstance to follow for the side.

"People are going to look at the school differently," Weyn said. "They're going to look at the athletics differently when they see this field. Beaumont was always that field, you'd have to go out to that little field there. There was really nothing that was like your own thing, you know? That's hard. But even at HB we had that, and we had to go to Ursuline. And it was still not your own thing.

"You're kind of sitting on a gold mine here. You've got a new field to sell and that you can show to people. Academically, it's a strong school. There's a lot of tie-ins with Cleveland Heights. There's a lot of tie-ins with the parochial schools. ... That's where the girls are coming from, and that's important."

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