The West Haven Youth Soccer League hosted its 11th annual West Haven Invitational Tournament, the WHIT, last weekend. It was a beautiful weekend where all of the West Haven travel teams competed against local programs on Saturday and Sunday. The West Haven Youth Soccer League also raised money for Breast Cancer Awareness and Research.
It was an exciting weekend for the U11 Westie girls. West Haven faced both Cheshire U12 and North Haven U12 for two separate games each. On Saturday, the Westies won their first game against Cheshire with a 7-0 final score. Goals were scored by Isabella Antonucci, Lexi Lucas, Katarina Oliveira and Madison Gargiulo. Goalie duties were shared by Cristel Miguel and Valentina DeMartino. The second game was Saturday afternoon against North Haven. In a well fought game, the Westies fell to North Haven,1-0. Cristel Miguel played keeper for the whole game. Sunday brought repeat games against Cheshire and North Haven. On Sunday morning the U11 girls played Cheshire. With a final score of 2-2 the game ended in a tie. Goals were scored by Isabella Antonucci and Katerina Oliveira. Cristel Miguel played as goalie. For the fourth and final game, the Westies took on North Haven and lost, 1-0. Valentina DeMartino played the whole game in the goal. Late Sunday afternoon, the U11 girls played in the championship against North Haven. The girls fought hard every minute of the game and it ended 1-1. The lone goal was scored by Lexi Lucas with Cristel Miguel once again in goal. After regulation the Westies played two, 10-minute overtimes and remained tied 1-1. The Westies ended up winning the U12 division in penalty kicks 1-0, with the goal by Camilla Murphy.
The Elite Soccer Camps U14 Girls Travel team played in the U15 division of the tournament. The girls opened up play Saturday afternoon against Ansonia winning, 4-1. Niamh Chesson, Llyanna Griffith-Waite, Cindy Burns, Camryn Flaherty, Chloe Whelan and Annabelle Pasacreta anchored the defense in the opening game. Later Saturday afternoon, the Elite Soccer U14 girls took on Wallingford, winning their second game, 4-1. Ariana Izzo, Ava Murphy, Aylin Soto, Jaelyn Beauvais and Jaylyn Powell dominated the midfield and guided their team to the win. Sunday morning, the girls were back in action, taking on North Haven. After going down 3-0 in the first half, the girls rallied and came out with a 3-3 tie. Brooke Flaherty and Alexandria Nunes led the offense, with Molly Gunning, Camryn Beauvais, and Abigail Phelan working the flanks. In the final game of round-robin play, the team needed a win or tie to be sure of advancement to the finals, and they came out strong, getting the 6-0 win against Hamden. Etta Funke and Isabella Eyler played very strong, with Cashlin O’Neill getting the shut-out in goal.
In the finals, the Elie Soccer U14’s had a rematch against North Haven. Both teams played well, with regulation ending in a 1-1 draw. North Haven found a way to score in overtime, leaving the Elite Soccer U14 girls to finish in second place.
The U9 girls had an impressive weekend. On Saturday, they faced off against Wallingford and Branford. Annabelle Fiorillo and Stella Porto controlled the ball well up and down the field against Wallingford. Luciana Cappetta scored as West Haven fell short, 3-1. In the Branford game, Gillian Wynus had several strong plays for West Haven and Samantha Zuk scored for West Haven, with a final score of 6-2. On Sunday, Josylyn Davila and Olivia Petrie shared goalie duties fending off North Haven. Aliana Wilson and Kiva Inahuazo worked well to get control of the ball. The U9 girls also faced off against West Haven’s U10 girls, holding their own. Josylyn Davila made several great saves as Kai Ruotolo and Jocelyn Kenny had some strong plays. Saturday morning the U10 girls lost to Milford, 3-1. Sophia Empric scored the lone goal for West Haven. Lulu Sebas, Arianna Throm, and Sophia Locklear played well at midfield, demonstrating good foot skills. Lynnie Chesson made many excellent save in net to keep the game close. Saturday afternoon the girls tied Wallingford 2-2 in a hard-fought contest. Sophia Empric scored both goals for West Haven with strong support coming from Lulu Sebas and Sophia Locklear. Lynnie Chesson played strong in net while Jada Ciliberti and Hailey Dargon were solid on defense. Sunday morning the U10 girls tied Cheshire, 2-2. Sophia Locklear and Sophia Empric provided the offense. Lulu Sebas made many excellent saves in goal while Lynnie Chesson, and Chelsea Hernandez helped control the midfield. Jada Cilberti anchored the defense for the Westies. In the afternoon on Sunday, the U10 girls beat the West Haven U9 girls, 5-0. Arianna Throm, Lynnie Chesson and Heleigh McCarthy provided the scoring.
The West Haven U12 boys captured the championship with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Madison at Duffy Field on Sunday afternoon. The Blue Devils went 4-1 during the WHIT and completed their fall season with a sparkling overall record of 9-1-0. Jovan Lakaj scored both of the West Haven goals in the championship match. Rafi Treat saved a penalty kick in the first half and then made two outstanding saves in the second half in goal for the Westies. Treat, who finished with nine total saves, was voted Man of the Match as voted on by the Madison team. For his first goal Lakaj won the ball and drove it to the top corner of the penalty box. His beautiful chip floated over the Madison keeper and into the net. After Treat’s save of the PK, the Blue Devils regained momentum and made it 2-0. Sean Studley played the ball toward the corner where Lakaj cut it inside and ripped his shot just inside the far post. In the second half Madison applied pressure but the Westies’ defense was up to the task. Madison did get one goal back, but Treat denied their last best chance with a leaping tip of a shot sending it over the crossbar. Studley was West Haven’s leading scorer in the tournament with three goals and five assists. Ryan Malone also scored three goals with an assist. Lakaj scored three goals and Panton had two. Pacey Larka, Ramy Mandhouj, Pedro Furtado and Miguel all had one goal and one assist. Aciker had one assist. Victor Davila and Treat split time in goal and were both rock-solid. In Saturday’s opening game of U12 play the Westies used a strong second half to post a 4-2 win over New Haven. Studley recorded a hat trick and also assisted on Larka’s tally. Miguel and Malone had assists. Brown was named Man of the Match for his play at center back. In Saturday’s second game the Blue Devils jumped out to a 6-1 lead before winning, 6-4, over Stratford. Malone scored twice with the other goals scored by Mandhouj, Miguel, Lakaj and Panton. Studley chipped in with three assists, while Mandhouj, Aciker and Larka also had assists. Studley earned Man of the Match honors.
Sunday morning the Westies clinched a spot in the finals with a 3-0 win over Branford. Furtado notched the only goal of the first half. Malone chipped the keeper and Panton headed in Furtado’s free kick in the second half. Victor Davila earned the shutout in goal for the Westies. Panton was named Man of the Match. In Sunday’s second match the Blue Devils dropped a 2-0 decision to Madison in a game that meant nothing to the standings.
The P&B Express U14 Lady Westies competed in their first WHIT tournament going 1-3 for the weekend where the scores certainly do not reflect the excellent effort and positive momentum of the team. For the first game on Saturday they fell to North Haven, 3-0. Madyson Ortiz and Natalie Reed led the offense assisted by Josephina Lakaj and Aliana Tepetl. In the second game the Westies returned to their winning ways taking down Hamden, 2-0. Nada Elmouki and Alivia Ginsberg both scored assisted by Amanda Fagnani. Amayah Kelly along with Jade Rivas Resuleu added additional offense with many shots on goal. On Sunday the defense and midfielders were the highlight against Ansonia albeit falling, 3-0. Jasmine Trigueros and Riley Studley stopped many attacks supported by Madden Evangeliste, Jayden Braacker, Sydni Gayle and Angelina Messina. The final game on Sunday was one of the strongest for the Westies, keeping it close in the first half at 1-0, but they were not able to find the back of the net which resulted in a 3-0 loss. Bellarose Ramirez, Sophie Mazuroski, Katelynn Salgado, Sarahi Cruz-Cruz and Michelle Ceja all contributed well.