Armani Reid and his teammates wanted to set the tone right from the start when the Westies traveled to play Shelton Friday evening.
Reid and company did exactly that, scoring early and never looking back, as second-ranked West Haven knocked off Shelton, the No. 6 team in the GameTimeCT Top 10 poll, 31-21 in a Southern Connecticut Conference contest at Finn Stadium in Shelton.
West Haven has now defeated a pair of top ten teams on the road, opening the season with a win at Staples.
Reid caught a pair of touchdown passes from Conlan and finished with 109 yards receiving, and he also sealed the game with an interception as Shelton was trying to make a stunning fourth quarter comeback.
The balanced West Haven attack also saw Conlan run for 52 yards and throw for 172 yards and the two scores. Kemp ran for 148 yards and two touchdowns on 31 carries.
That attack helped West Haven jump out to a 10-0 lead, but, despite holding a 34-16 play advantage and a 158-14 advantage in yards in the opening half, West Haven led just 10-7 as Shelton’s defense forced a late second quarter score.
West Haven outgained the Gaels 368-181 in the game, but the Westies had to hold on as Shelton controlled the fourth quarter.
After West Haven was stopped on fourth down to open the fourth quarter, Shelton needed three plays to go 77 yards, capped with a 59-yard touchdown run by David Dojlidko 3:55 in the final quarter to get the Gaels within 24-14.
A mix up on the ensuing kickoff had the Westies start at their own 2-yard line, before punting. The Gaels again struck quickly, needing three plays to get within 24-21 when Dojlidko scored from 27 yards out with 4:44 remaining in the fourth.
West Haven recovered the onside kick at its own 47, and after a beautiful catch and run by Reid to the Shelton 3, Kemp capped the scoring drive with a 1-yard run just 56 seconds after Shelton got within striking distance.
The Gaels had one final opportunity, but Reid’s interception with three minutes to go sealed the West Haven victory.
The stressful fourth quarter for West Haven did not take away from the impressive start by the Westies as they led 24-7 after three quarters.
West Haven marched on a 16-play, 79-yard drive on its opening possession of the game and took a 7-0 lead when Conlan hit Reid for an 18-yard scoring play. West Haven outgained Shelton 94-5 in the opening quarter and took a 10-0 lead when Raul Sanchez nailed a 28-yard field goal with 8:17 left in the second quarter.
The Westies appeared headed to halftime in control, but a backward pass from Conlan was not covered and Kanye Tinney picked up the loose ball and raced 37 yards for a score with 1:01 remaining in the opening half.
West Haven did not seem fazed, marching 56 yards in 10 plays to start the second half. Conlan hooked up with Reid, who brilliantly remained in bounds along the sideline, and found the endzone for a 17-7 lead 4:42 into the third quarter.
Following a Shelton punt, West Haven needed just six plays to go 61 yards, capped with Kemp’s 9-yard score with 1:57 left in the third quarter.
After starting the season in impressive fashion with three consecutive sweeps, the West Haven volleyball team has hit a bump in the road. After falling to Guilford, the Westies dropped their second consecutive match with a 3-1 loss at Jonathan Law. The scores of the match were 22-25, 15-25, 25-13, 23-25.
Olivia McDonnell led the Westies with a solid all-around game, finishing with 14 kills, six aces, four blocks and four digs. Alison Frazer was stellar defensively with 17 digs, while Bianka Portugal Morales added 11 digs, three aces, and two kills.
Sarah Davey ran the offense with 21 assists, Avery Criscio had 11 digs, Shannon Hoey had six digs, Camila Queiroz added five digs and four kills, while Sam Close finished with five kills.
West Haven dropped its third consecutive match with a 3-0 loss at Brien McMahon. The 25-20, 25-15, 25-9 loss dropped the Westies to 3-3 on the year.
Portugal Morales led the defensive effort with 10 digs, Frazer added seven digs, and Hudanur Sahin had five digs and four assists. McDonnell chipped in four kills, three aces, three digs and two blocks, while Scillia and Camila Queiroz each had three digs.
West Haven snapped a three-game losing streak with a 3-0 home victory over Career Saturday afternoon. With the 25-16, 25-9, 25-18 victory, West Haven improved to 4-3 on the year.
In a balanced attack, Sahin ran the offense with 10 assists, while also adding three digs. McDonnell had six kills and three aces, Portugal Morales had eight digs, four aces and two kills, Hoey added four digs and two aces, Scillia had three aces and three digs, while Sarah Davey chipped in three assists and two digs, and Criscio and Sam Close each had three kills.
A match after snapping its three-game losing streak, the West Haven volleyball team fell back to .500 with a 3-1 loss against Sacred Heart Academy. With the 20-25, 25-18, 16-25, 23-25 defeat the Westies dropped to 4-4 on the season.
Frazer led West Haven’s defense with 14 digs, while McDonnell was impressive on both sides of the ball with 16 kills, three blocks, and three digs.
Davey ran the offense with 18 assists and four aces, while also providing eight digs on defense. Close added seven kills, four blocks, and two aces, Queiroz had eight digs, Hoey had seven digs, and Sahin chipped in three digs and six assists.
West Haven fell to 4-5 with its second straight loss with a 23-25, 25-21, 25-14, 24-26, 14-16 defeat at Sheehan
The Westies received a tremendous team effort in the loss. Sahin ran the West Haven offense with 27 assists and three aces, while also playing well on the defensive side with 20 digs. Frazer, Portugal Morales, Hoey and Queiroz all were exceptional on the defensive side as Frazer had 23 digs, Portugal Morales had 21 digs, Hoey had 17 digs, and Queiroz also added 14 digs in the loss.
McDonnell had a solid match with 19 kills, four blocks, four aces, and three digs, Close had nine kills, four aces, and three blocks, and Scillia added seven digs in the loss.
West Haven snapped its two-game losing streak and got back to the .500 mark with a thrilling. 3-2, victory at Lyman Hall Thursday evening. The 28-26, 24-26, 25-20, 24-26, 15-8 victory helped the Westies improve to 5-5 on the year.
Frazer was tremendous on defense as she led the way with 38 digs. Six players were in double digits in digs on the defensive side as Portugal Morales and Hoey each had 18, Sahin and Scillia each had 17, and Queiroz had 12.
Sahin also added 18 assists, Portugal Morales had eight kills and three aces, Sam Close had nine kills, Avery Criscio had four digs and four kills, and Kemely Gomes-Soares finished with four kills and four digs.
The West Haven girls soccer team is off to a slow start this season. After going 1-2-1 in the last four games, the Westies now stand at 2-4-2 on the year.
West Haven traveled to Foran and came away with a 1-1 tie. Jaylyn Powell rescued the Westies from a slow start with a goal to give the Westies the draw.
The Westies then traveled to play Mercy a day later and fell, 8-0, in a game dominated by the Tigers. Ericka Tighe made 12 saves in the loss.
West Haven rebounded to play a solid contest, but fell in a home match with North Haven, 2-1.
West Haven’s tying goal was scored by Amiyah Jones with the assist going to Powell.
West Haven improved to 2-4-1 with a 6-0 victory over Lyman Hall. Jones led the Westies with three goals, Jaylyn Powell had two goals and an assist, and Abigail Phelan also scored.
Olivia Trenchard, Ariana Izzo, and Powell each had individual assists on the three goals by Jones. Powell scored an unassisted goal, and also had a goal off an assist from Llyanna Griffith.
Abigail Phelan also scored, with an assist going to Chloe Whelan.
The West Haven boys soccer team is on a roll. Behind three goals from Ethan Masoperh, the Westies won their third straight contest with a 4-1 home victory over Hamden.
In the three victories, West Haven has outscored its opponents 12-2. The Westies are now 3-0-1 on the year.
With an 11-10 shot advantage in the game, the Westies took a 2-0 lead in the first half when Masoperh scored at the 7:30 and 26:30 marks off assists from David Smith each time.
Yahzeel Beyley made eight saves in the win for West Haven.
West Haven suffered its first loss of the season with a 1-0 loss at Guilford, falling to 3-1-1 on the year.
After a scoreless first half, Guilford’s Owen Medvecky scored an unassisted goal at the 71:42 mark for the only goal Guilford needed.
Beyley made four saves in the loss for West Haven, while Anthony Malatesta made four as well in the shutout victory.
West Haven got back to its winning ways with a 2-0 victory at North Haven, and a 4-1-1 mark.
Darwin Calvopina recorded the shutout in goal for the Westies with seven saves.
West Haven improved to 5-1-1 with a 6-0 victory over Harding Monday afternoon in West Haven. Masoperh led the Westies with two goals and an assist, Angel Magana had a goal and two assists, and Calvopina posted his second straight shutout with one save.
West Haven held a 15-2 shot advantage in the game.
West Haven is inching closer to a postseason berth early in the season. With a 2-0 road victory over Harding, the Westies improved to 6-1-1 on the year.
West Haven held a 14-2 shot advantage in the contest and Calvopina recorded his third shutout of the year.
After a scoreless first half, West Haven scored the only goal it would need with 7:30 remaining in regulation as Juan Vargas scored off an assist from Masoperh. Matthew Panton added an insurance tally when he scored off a penalty kick in the final minute for the 2-0 final.
West Haven suffered its second loss of the season in a 3-1 defeat at Shelton. The Gaels scored twice in the first half and never trailed as West Haven fell to 6-2-1 on the year.
Romero’s goal, off an assist from Gazcon, with 15 seconds left in the first half gave the Westies life, but West Haven could never get the equalizer.
Calvopina made five saves in the loss.
The West Haven girls swim team fell to 0-3 with a 97-76 defeat against Shelton.
The 200 freestyle relay team of Olivia DeLauri, Emma Dorjee, Khando Dorjee, and Emily Guthrie placed second in 2 minutes, 21.87 seconds, while the 400 freestyle relay team of Ava Gallipoli, Guthrie, Olivia DeLauri, and Isabella DeLauri placed third in 5.05.57.
The 200 freestyle saw Gallipoli place first in 2:28.16, and Isabella DeLauri placed fourth in 2:46.23. Khando Dorjee was second in the 200 IM in 2:59.19, while the 50 freestyle had Emily Falanga place second in 31.19, Olivia DeLauri third in 32.15, and Michelle Tompkins fourth in 32.96.
Madison Rowland was first in the 1 meter diving with 92.15 points, Khando Dorjee was third in the 100 fly at 1:22.18, Isabella Delauri was third in the 100 free in 1:14.81, and the 500 free saw Gallipoli place second in 6:47.55 and Guthrie third in 6:55.49.
Olivia Delauri was second in the 100 back in 1:21.08, while Emma Dorjee was third in the 100 breast in 1:37.36.
Despite a close meet, West Haven fell to 0-4 with a 93-82 loss to Foran.
The 200 medley relay team placed first with a team of Olivia DeLauri, Emma Dorjee, Khando Dorjee, and Caly Nyack in 2:18.91. The 200 free relay placed second with a team of Nyack, Khando Dorjee, Guthrie, and Gallipoli in 2:05.06, while the 400 free relay placed second with a team of Guthrie, Gallipoli, Olivia DeLauri, and Falanga in 4:56.13.
Gallipoli was second in the 200 free in 2:27.12, Khando Dorjee was fourth in the 200 IM in 2:51.77, and Falanga was fourth in the 50 free in 33.37 seconds.
Rowland was third in the 1 meter diving with 94.55 points, Nyack was third in the 100 fly in 1:27.68, Khando Dorjee was third in the 100 free in 1:06.73, and Gallipoli was third in the 500 free in 6:42.27.
Nyack was second in the 100 back in 1:14.93, and Emma Dorjee was second in the 100 breast in 1:35.09.
In a tight meet, West Haven fell to East Haven co-op, 86-80.
The 200 medley relay team placed third with a team of Gallipoli, Khando Dorjee, Nyack, and Guthrie in 2:24.16. The 200 free relay team was second with a team of Nyack, Dorjee, Falanga, and Delia Vital in 2:06.90, while the 400 free relay team was second with a team of Gallipoli, Olivia DeLauri, Falanga, and Guthrie in 4:47.46.
Isabella DeLauri was third in the 200 free in 2:40.82, Khando Dorjee was third in the 200 IM in 2:51.51, Gallipoli was second in the 50 free in 29.77 seconds, and Nyack placed third in the 100 fly in 1:27.75.
Khando Dorjee finished third in the 100 free in 1:09.70, Gallipoli won the 500 free in 6:39.16, Guthrie was second in the 500 free in 7:01.66, Nyack won the 100 back in 1:14.99, and Olivia DeLauri was second in the 100 back in 1:16.61.
Emma Dorjee placed second in the 100 breast in 1:35.52, and Amanda Fagnani was third in the 100 breast in 1:46.50.