Strong Stadium. The Blue Devils took out the Gaels, 3-1.
The West Haven volleyball team has closed the regular season. The Westies snapped their five-match losing streak with a 3-0 victory over Whitney Tech last Monday evening in Hamden. The Westies won by scores of 25-16, 25-18, and 25-7.
Neve Krajcir led West Haven with eight aces, eight kills, and five digs. Savannah Lopez ran the offense with 19 assists, and added five aces, Tanasia Fidalgo had seven kills and three aces, Asia Ford added four aces and four kills, while Mckayla Fowler had three aces, three kills, and three digs.
Looking to build after snapping a five-match losing streak, the West Haven volleyball team rain into a tough Guilford squad Thursday evening. While the final score showed Guilford winning 3-0, there were plenty of positives to be seen all around.
Lopez led the way for West Haven with seven assists, five digs, and two kills. Lexi Prion and Anh Nguyen each had five digs, Krajcir added four digs and four kills, Ford had four aces and three kills, Anaelecea Turcio had four digs, and Fowler chipped in four kills and two digs.
West Haven dropped its second straight match and fell to 2-9 with a 3-0 loss at Hand of Madison Monday evening. The Westies fell by scores of 26-24, 25-15, and 25-15.
Lopez ran the offense with 13 assists and also had six digs on defense. Krajcir was solid all around as she finished with eight digs, six aces, and five kills. Ford added four kills and three digs, Fowler and Nguyen each had four digs, Dulcemaria Castillo had three digs, and Fidalgo chipped in three kills in the loss.
“Neve (Krajcir) and Savannah (Lopez) both played very well tonight,” Coldren said. “Neve served tough and was able to find the holes in Hand’s defense. Savannah’s setting and defense was on point. I know this season has been tough for them, but they are continuing to work hard and lead this team all the way to the end.”
West Haven closed the regular season with a 3-0 loss to Lauralton Hall at West Haven High Thursday evening. With the 25-13, 25-15, 25-17 defeat, West Haven ends the regular season with a 2-10 record, including three straight losses to close the campaign.
Ford led the way for West Haven as she had seven digs defensively. Sophomore Jenna Johnson had five assists and two kills offensively, and four digs on the defensive side, while Castillo added four digs.
The Westies played without four starters who were in quarantine due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Looking for some positives after a pair of thorough defeats, the West Haven girls soccer team went back to basics. Using a combination of timely scoring, tough defense, and stellar goalkeeping, West Haven snapped its two-game skid with a 2-0 victory at Lauralton Hall last Monday afternoon.
West Haven scored the only goal it would need in the first half when Madison Lentine played a ball to Julia Tsakonas. The West Haven sharp-shooter wasted no time finding the back of the net for a 1-0 lead at the 21:50 mark.
West Haven increased the margin to 2-0 in the second half, and Tsakonas was at the center of the scoring again. Maya Bermudez picked up a rebound and deposited the second tally of the game with an assist going to Tsakonas at the 54:06 mark.
Mackenzie Gardner and Kassidy Carrano combined on the shutout with Gardner making two saves, and Carrano finishing with three.
There have been clear distinctions between the wins and losses for the West Haven girls soccer team this season.
In its six wins, West Haven had outscored its opponents 18-0, while being outscored 9-2 in its two losses. The trend continued against Jonathan Law.
Behind a stellar defensive effort, the goalkeeping of Gardner and Carrano, and a first half goal by Selena Izzo, West Haven defeated Law 1-0 in a Southern Connecticut Conference Division C contest on Senior Night at Jonathan Law Wednesday evening.
The West Haven defense was too tough for Law to get through as Law was held to just one shot in the opening half and eight in the game.
The Westies controlled the first half to a tune of a 9-1 shot advantage, in which Law did not register its only shot until less than 15 minutes remained in the opening half.
West Haven’s Cori Severino was dynamic in the opening half, creating several scoring opportunities, but it was senior Selena Izzo who finally put West Haven on the scoreboard when she scored just over the outstretched arms of Law goalkeeper Sabrina Lawless from 30 yards out with 20:45 remaining in the opening half.
After Izzo was denied by Lawless on a rebound attempt 55 seconds into the game, Severino was the offensive threat for the Westies.
The junior was dynamic on the left side as Severino sent a perfect cross to Lentine in front, which Lawless denied with a diving save 6:20 in. Severino then ripped a shot from 10 yards out which Lawless denied, then followed by hitting the post with the rebound 3:25 in.
Severino then had two more golden opportunities when she was denied by Lawless from 10 yards out, and shot wide of the goal from 15 yards out with 12:35 remaining in the opening half.
Defensively, the Westies contained Law through the first 40 minutes behind the play of Riley Severino, Tomalyn Williams, Emma Walker, and Amanda Tsakonas, limiting Law to just the one shot from long range.
Law (1-8-1) finally got going in the second half with seven shots, two of which were high quality that Carrano turned aside. The first came off the foot of Shelby Green from 10 yards out, and the second was a header from Elly Van Waveren from 15 yards out with 20 minutes to go.
Gardner finished with one save and Carrano had five saves in the win for West Haven. Lawless had seven saves in the loss for Law.
West Haven closed the regular season with a 1-0 loss against Foran Saturday afternoon at Ken Strong Stadium in West Haven. With the loss, West Haven fell to 7-3 on the year.
West Haven will have a chance to avenge the defeat as the Westies play host to Foran in the league semifinals Tuesday night.
In what was a defensive battle, Foran scored the lone goal of the contest with 1:28 remaining when Skyler Agresti found the back of the net.
Carrano made four saves in the loss for West Haven.
The West Haven boys soccer team improved to 4-1-2 with a 2-0 victory over cross-town rival Notre Dame Tuesday evening. The two teams played to a draw in the season opener. With the victory, the Westies improved to 3-0-1 in their last four games.
Seniors Derick Meza and Aldo Barragan scored in the first half, with junior Alan Hernandez assisting on both tallies.
In a hard-fought contest, the game remained scoreless through a majority of the opening half. Meza then changed the momentum when he scored off an assist from Hernandez at the 32:08 mark.
The Westies then added another big blow before halftime when Barragan scored off an assist from Hernandez at the 37:13 mark.
Neither team scored in the second half as the Westies secured their fourth win of the season. Junior Brian Carew made eight saves in the shutout win for West Haven as the Westies held a 22-10 shot advantage in the game.
Zack Benson and Matt Tobin each made four saves for the Green Knights.
West Haven improved to 5-1-2 with its third straight victory last Friday afternoon, a 6-0 decision over Platt Tech.
The Westies dominated the contest from start to finish, holding a 24-4 shot advantage and leading 3-0 at the half. Barragan led the offense with two goals, while Meza, and juniors Brian Rivadera and Donaldo Yanez each had a goal and an assist.
Meza got West Haven on the board quickly, scoring off an assist from senior Sebastian Novoa 16 minutes, 38 seconds into the contest. Rivadera increased the lead to 2-0 at the 23:21 mark with an unassisted tally, before Yanez closed the first half scoring off an assist from Rivadera at the 34:48 mark.
The Westies put the game away with three more goals in the second half. Barragan scored the first two as his initial goal at the 48:32 mark was assisted by Yanez, and his second tally 4:05 later was unassisted.
Junior Murtaza Amjad scored the final goal of the contest off an assist from Meza with 4:24 to go.
West Haven received a solid defensive performance all around and junior Holden Axelrod picked up the shutout with three saves in goal.
West Haven improved to 6-1-2 with its fourth straight victory, a 7-0 decision at North Haven Tuesday evening. The shutout was West Haven’s third in a row as the Westies have outscored their opponents 15-0 in that time frame.
West Haven dominated the game from start to finish with a 31-5 shot advantage. John McLaughlin needed to make just three saves in posting the shutout.
Barragan led West Haven on the offensive side with three goals and an assist. Five different players scored for the Westies in the victory.
The Westies led 3-0 at the half and cruised from that point on. Barragan gave West Haven a 1-0 lead 12:28 into the contest off an assist from Meza.
The goal would stand until the Westies struck quickly in the final seven minutes of the half. Rivadera added an unassisted tally at 32:16 and Barragan scored off an assist from Hernandez at 32:26.
The Westies needed just 2:54 of the second half to take a 4-0 lead when Novoa scored off an assist from Barragan. Barragan increased the margin to 5-0 off an assist from Anthony Vendrella at 64:04, and Sebastian Navarro and Meza added unassisted tallies in the final eight minutes for the 7-0 final.
West Haven closed out the regular season with its fifth straight victory, a 3-0 decision over Jonathan Law Friday evening at Ken Strong Stadium in West Haven. With the victory, West Haven closed the regular season with a 7-1-2 record.
Five different players were in the scoring column for the Westies, and Carew made a pair of saves in the shutout win. West Haven held a 12-5 shot advantage in the game.
Meza gave West Haven a 1-0 lead with 11 minutes, 12 seconds remaining in the first half, before Hernandez increased the lead to 2-0 off an assist from Barragan 4:27 later.
The Westies scored the lone goal of the second half when Novoa scored off an assist from Rivadera with 13:34 remaining in the contest.
The West Haven boys cross-country team traveled to New Haven last Wednesday, running against Wilbur Cross and Foran.
The Westies defeated Cross, 25-30 and Foran, 20-35. The Westies now stand at 4-0 in the division.
The top runners for West Haven were seniors James Weber in 18 minutes, 53 seconds and Allen Aldrich in 18:55, and junior Justin Rodriguez in 19:00.
The girls also traveled to New Haven and fell to Wilbur Cross and Foran by identical 15-50 scores. The top runners for West Haven were sophomores Amanda Gullo in 25:24 and Maryangel Cruz in 27:32, and senior Alex Kendall in 27:52.
The West Haven boys cross-country team was a part of team history a week later, taking home the program’s first Southern Connecticut Conference Division title in New Haven. With 27 points in Division C, West Haven edged Cross (30), while Platt Tech was third.
Aldrich was West Haven’s top runner and third overall in 18 minutes, 58 seconds, while Rodriguez was fourth overall in 19:05.
The Westies had six runners place in the top ten as Weber was fifth in 19:06, junior Alex Potter was seventh in 19:21, junior Eric Owen was eighth in 19:37, and sophomore Khai Outhavong was tenth in 20:01.
On the girls side, senior Kenedi Merola was tenth in Division C in a time of 25:09.
For all your West Haven sporting news throughout the year, including game articles by Mike Madera, highlights, photos and more, visit www.westieblue.com.