The West Haven football team knew it was going to be a tough start of the season, facing sixth-ranked Shelton in the season opener on the road. Twice having leads of 7-0 and 13-7, West Haven could not hold on as Shelton rallied for a 21-13 victory in a Southern Connecticut Conference Tier 1 contest at Finn Stadium in Shelton Friday evening.
Jaden Grant and Jordan Berrios scored for West Haven, but an injury to quarterback Andre Rentas was too much for the Westies to overcome.
After a scoreless first quarter, West Haven got on the board first in the second quarter when Rentas connected with Grant for a six-yard scoring strike to cap a five-play, 43-yard drive. Rentas kicked the extra point, giving West Haven a 7-0 lead with 7:51 left in the second quarter.
The lead was short-lived as the Gaels scored on a 19-yard pass play with one minute left in the half, sending the teams to the half even at seven.
The Westies looked as if they stole the momentum as Shelton was driving in the third quarter. Berrios went 85 yards the other way with an interception, and despite missing the conversion, West Haven led 13-7.
Again, the lead was a short one. Michai Lynch Barnes ran 77 yards on the next play for the Gaels, who also converted the extra point, for a 14-13 lead with 6:59 left in the third quarter.
Rentas left the game in the third quarter with an ankle injury, forcing the Westies to a wildcat offense, one which Shelton saw last year and was prepared for. Shelton added a fourth quarter score to push the lead to eight, and West Haven was unable to come back.
Rentas threw for 112 yards and a touchdown before leaving with an injury for the Westies.
West Haven will look to get in the win column Friday evening when the Westies host Conard at 7 p.m.
The West Haven boys’ soccer team used a solid effort to start the 2019 campaign in a 2-0 road victory over Coginchaug.
The West Haven defense came up big with a shut-down effort and the offense got a pair of timely goals in the opening victory.
Aldo Barragan led the West Haven offense with one goal and one assist, while John McLaughlin made seven saves, including five in the second half for the shutout.
“John (McLaughin) made some big saves in the second half to keep us in the game,” West Haven coach Chris Cap said.
McLaughlin was big for the Westies throughout the contest as he helped keep the game scoreless with a pair of saves in the opening half.
Barragan finally got West Haven on the board when he gave the Westies a 1-0 lead off an assist from Luis Lopez at the 72 minute, 48 second mark.
Coginchaug had its opportunities in the second half, but McLaughlin kept the hosts off the scoreboard, then received some cushion when Derick Meza scored at the 75:20 mark off an assist from Barragan for a 2-0 advantage.
After opening the season with a victory, West Haven was looking to continue the run Saturday evening when cross-town rival Notre Dame visited Ken Strong Stadium.
Running out to a quick lead, West Haven had to rally after the Green Knights evened the score before the Westies defeated Notre Dame 3-2. With the victory, the Westies improved to 2-0 on the season.
Looking to set the pace of the contest, West Haven opened the scoring just 5 minutes, 34 seconds into the game when Brian Rivadera scored off an assist from Sebastian Nova. When Barragan scored on a penalty kick at the 34:41 mark West Haven took a 2-0 lead to the half.
Notre Dame quickly forgot about the two-goal deficit as the Green Knights scored twice in a span of 3:17 to even the game at two. Nick Vitti scored both goals for Notre Dame, setting up West Haven’s late winner.
Barragan scored his second of the contest at the 62:48 mark, and just 5:23 after Vitti had evened the contest. West Haven’s defense and McLaughlin did the rest as McLaughlin finished with 10 saves in closing out the Green Knights.
Notre Dame held a 22-19 shot advantage in the contest. Zack Benson made eight saves in the loss for the Green Knights.
Always looking to start the season the right foot, the West Haven girls’ soccer team did exactly that Thursday afternoon in New Haven. With nine different players recording at least one point, West Haven cruised to a 7-1 victory over Career/Hillhouse in the season opener for both teams.
Taylor Nowak and Cori Severino each led the offense with two goals and one assist, Emily Merola and Jessica Robinson each had a goal and an assist, and Selena Izzo added a pair of assists.
“It was a good opening effort from us,” West Haven coach Pete Trenchard said. “We did a great job moving the ball and creating scoring chances. We had five different girls score, and everyone contributed on the field. I’m proud of the effort and the result. But, now we have to refocus and prepare for some tougher challenges.”
The Westies took a 3-0 lead to the half and never looked back. Emily Merola scored with the help of Tomalyn Williams and Robinson at the 11 minute mark for a 1-0 lead.
Just 4:38 later, Nowak’s first of the game, with Severino and Izzo helping, gave the Westies a 2-0 advantage. Severino capped the first half scoring with her first tally of the game off a helper from Merola at the 39 minute mark.
Nowak opened the second half scoring for a 4-0 lead with Madison Lentine and Izzo helping, before Riley Severino set up Cori Severino for a 5-0 lead at the 46:24 mark.
Robinson scored off a free kick at the 51 minute mark for a 6-0 advantage, and Emma Walker scored off an assist from Nowak for the final West Haven goal.
The Westies held a 14-3 shot advantage in the game with junior Mackenzie Gardner and freshman Kassidy Carrano each making one save.
West Haven was looking to build off a solid start of the season when the Westies returned to Ken Strong Stadium for the home opener against Sacred Heart Academy Saturday afternoon.
Unfortunately for the Westies, they could not keep the momentum going. The Sharks scored twice in the first nine minutes and never looked back in a 3-1 victory over West Haven.
“We came out flat and Sacred Heart punished us for it,” Trenchard said. “We were not focused and found ourselves down two goals in the opening ten minutes. We had to chase the game from there. We were better in the second half, put some shots on target. We had a nice goal where freshmen Mya Bermudez drew a foul, and then Emma Walker played a nice ball for Julia Tsakonas to bury in the back of the net. Our final freshman, Kassidy Carrano played a solid second half in goal, keeping Sacred Heart off the score sheet.”
The Sharks attacked from the start as Paige Johnson scored 5:01 in, and Lia Prato scored 4:04 later. When Chloe Falls scored at the 31:59 mark, Sacred Heart had a comfortable 3-0 advantage.
The Westies finally got on the scoreboard at the 65:22 mark when Emma Walker set a nice ball for Julia Tsakonas who scored West Haven’s lone tally of the game.
Ava King made two saves in the win for the Sharks, while Gardner and Carrano each made three saves in the loss for West Haven.
As the season opener approached, West Haven volleyball coach Kate Coldren wanted to see her team come away with a road victory. While that did not happen, Coldren learned plenty about her team.
The Westies battled throughout, but could not come back in a 19-25, 14-25, 25-23, 11-25 defeat against Sacred Heart Academy in Hamden Friday evening.
“It is not exactly the start we were hoping for, but we definitely know what we need to work on,” Coldren said. “We were very evenly matched skill-wise, but they (SHA) played with much more excitement and energy. Bria (Stanley) had a decent night at the net and Noelle (Noble) played extremely well in the back row.”
Sacred Heart used its energy to come away with a first game victory by six points in what was a tough battle. The Sharks controlled the second game, pushing West Haven to the limit being down a pair of games. West Haven rallied and held on to win the third game by two points.
The Westies could not sustain that energy in the fourth game and the Sharks controlled play to close out the contest.
“We really need to work on consistency and fixing our mistakes,” Coldren said. “We really struggled to get any kind of momentum going.”
Giliana Santaniello led the Westies with three aces, five digs, and 10 assists. Bria Stanley added three aces, eight kills, and four digs, while Noelle Noble chipped in two kills and 13 digs.
Savannah Lopez had one ace, five digs, and four assists, Neve Krajcir added two aces, three kills, and two digs, and Thiana Baez had one ace and five digs.
The West Haven boys and girls cross-country teams opened the season Tuesday afternoon in Cheshire. While the team scores were not in West Haven’s favor, the Westies did have several runners with quality times and others who continue to see improvement.
On the boys’ side, the Westies fell to Cheshire, 18-48, Xavier, 19-47, but defeated Lyman Hall, 25-33.
West Haven’s top runners were Sebastian Villanueva in a time of 17 minutes, 40 seconds, James Weber in 20:06, and Ryan Martinez in 20:23.
The girls fell to Cheshire, 15-50, Mercy, 15-49, and Lyman Hall, 25-29. The top runners were Kenedi Merola in 26:48, Daelle Coriolan in 28:21, and freshman Hannah Burrows in 28:25.
The West Haven girls swimming team opened the season with an 83-101 victory over Foran Friday afternoon in West Haven.
The Westies had a good showing for the opening meet, finishing with four first place finishes, and five second place positions. The Westies did well in the relay events, placing first in the 200 yard medley relay, and second in the 200 freestyle relay.
Madison Hobart, Molly Wilson, Kaelyn Falanga, and Victoria Acuna led the 200 yard medley relay team to the win in 2 minutes, 3.61 seconds, while Alana Orecchio, Aliyah McAuley, Kaylee Taulty, and Sofia Shubin placed second in the 200 freestyle relay in 2:05.69.
Falanga had a solid opening day as she won the 50 yard freestyle in 27.05 seconds, and the 500 freestyle in 6:02.46. Acuna won the 100 yard freestyle in 1:04.92.
Morgan Falanga was second in the 200 freestyle in 2:18.15, Taulty placed second in the 1 meter diving with 137.15 points, Hobart was second in the 100 backstroke in 1:12.17, and Eileen Barrington was second in the 100 yard freestyle in 1:05.83.
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