On Columbus Day weekend, the West Haven Youth Soccer League hosted the annual tournament, the West Haven Invitational Tournament, or WHIT. Besides a weekend of good soccer and sportsmanship, the tournament also raises money for Breast Cancer Awareness and, all of the West Haven teams wear pink in support of Breast Cancer Awareness.
The West Haven U15 boys travel team started the weekend with a win against Chesire. While all the boys played well, Evan Lennon scored his first ever goal. Ryan Malone and Sean Studley both had very strong performances. The boys went onto game two on Saturday with another win, this time against New Haven. Goals were scored by Dylan Petrie, Santi Morales, Pablo Feregrino, and Alex Cortez. Matthew Pasacreta, Gabe Greengas, and Raymond Listorti had strong performances on the field. On Sunday the boys played two games against the West Haven U15 Rec team to determine tournament champions. Both teams played great games. Victor Davila and Matt Fowler held down the goal while Chase Agvent, Efrain Brown, RJ Jackson, and Mekayan Fowler dominated on defense. Great field performances by Nate Charron and Jackson Murphy. Bryan Brown and Alix Obas each scored a goal helping the West Haven U15 boys travel team take home the championship.
The West Haven U10 girls put together a great team performance in the WHIT tournament this past weekend, they started with back-to-back shutout wins against North Haven and West Haven U9 on day one. Day two started with some early rain, but that did not slow them down because they opened the flood gates against New Haven, shutting them out twice in the same day 6-0 and 5-0. West Haven was led by Ariel Titus providing scoring and great passes, Phoebe DiNuzzo controlled the defense with excellent communication and tackling. Amy Congacha showed great leadership and foot skill.
The U12 boys travel team played hard during each of their four games at the WHIT. Alex Johnson, the team’s starting goalkeeper, was at the top of his game the entire tournament. He made his opponents earn each of their goals. Rick Hernandez Arce, Jordan Walker, Grayson Laudano and Mikey Vargo worked very well together on defense, making several tremendous stops each. Midfielders Jaxon McDaniel, Eric Smith, Jackson Schoeman and Mike Villagomez wore trenches in the field running up and down, transitioning from offense to defense. They were pivotal in several turnovers and setting up forwards Toby Warcholic and Jayden Abekah to move in for the goal.
It was a weekend full of action for the U11 girls at the WHIT tournament. They took home a win against the Wallingford U11 girls, but fell short against New Haven, Wallingford U12, and West Haven U12. Throughout the weekend, Josylyn Davila dominated in defense as Kylee McCoart and Francesca DeMartino worked hard in goal. Gillian Wynus, Luciana Cappetta, Stella Porto, Josylyn Davila, and Francesca DeMartino all put one in the net for West Haven.
The West Haven U10 boys travel team split into two squads to participate in their first ever WHIT. West Haven U10 Blue opened the weekend with a 5-1 victory over Cheshire. Ryan Abekah scored several goals, while Mason DaSilva and Matteo D’Elia supported him in midfield. In game two on Saturday, West Haven Blue took on West Haven White, which ended in a thrilling 7-7 draw. Jaxon Cruz and Josiah Soto were outstanding in goal, while Ben Trenchard and Jax Guarino were solid on defense. West Haven White took on Cheshire in their second game of the day, winning 5-3. Seth Empric and Collin Gibbons controlled the back line. Jesus Rangel and Jimmy Clark both had a good overall game.
On Sunday, both teams were back in action. West Haven White started off the morning with a win against Coginchaug, 6-1, behind four goals from Roland Green. Jacob Warren capped of the scoring, after a six pass sequence involving five different players. West Haven White finished their weekend with a tough loss against a skilled Guilford team, 3-1. Davonte King made several excellent passes, and Luca DeCrescenzo impressed in goal the first half and on the field in the second.
West Haven Blue opened its first game on Sunday with a 5-3 loss to Coginchaug, in what was a close and competitive match. Nathan Powell and Tonye Isaac were aggressive on defense, winning the ball and making smooth passes forward. The Blue squad also fell to undefeated Guilford in their final match of the WHIT. Jacob Rader made some excellent saves in goal in the first half to keep his team in the game. Overall, both squads played extremely well over the course of the weekend, and it was a great experience for the budding soccer stars.