The West Haven boys hockey team inched closer to a state tournament invite with a 5-0 victory at Notre Dame Prep. The Westies improved to 5-8-1, and were 2-0-1 in their last three games at that point.
Luca DiLegge was the offensive story of the game as he finished with four goals, while Kai Lupa posted the shutout in goal.
After a scoreless first period, the Westies took over with four goals in the second period. DiLegge opened the scoring with a pair of unassisted tallies 13 seconds apart for a 2-0 lead 2:04 into the second period.
Sean Bush extended the lead to 3-0 3:58 later off an assist from Kyle Guarino, and DiLegge capped the second period with an unassisted goal with 33 seconds remaining. DiLegge made the final 5-0 when he scored off assists from Connor Moriarty and Jack Wellins with 2:24 remaining in the game.
West Haven kept taking steps towards the postseason with a 1-1 tie against Guilford. The Westies moved to 5-8-2 and needed two wins in the final five games to qualify for the state tournament.
Lupa made 33 saves, including seven in overtime. The Grizzlies took a 1-0 lead with a breakaway goal in the final 1:38 of the opening period, but Lupa was not to be beaten the rest of the way.
After Kyle Guarino was denied the tying goal 4:12 into the second period, Leo Mazuroski scored from the high slot with 6:16 remaining in the middle period to even the game at one.
The Westies took another step towards playing in the state tournament with a thrilling 4-3 overtime victory over Fairfield. Trailing by two goals after two periods, West Haven used a late rally to pull out the victory.
Alex Cretella scored off an assist from Wellins 5:22 into the third to get the Westies back in the game, before DiLegge scored an unassisted goal with 3:01 remaining in the third to force overtime.
Trey Wanerka then provided the heroics when his shot found the back of the net at the 1:12 mark of overtime.
Trailing 2-0 in the second period, Bush scored off an assist from Mazuroski to cut the deficit in half.
The West Haven/Sacred Heart Academy girls hockey team fell to 2-12-1 with a 4-1 loss at Hand – Madison.
Rylee DeSanto was busy early with 14 saves in the opening period. The West Haven / Sacred Heart Academy goaltender finished with 21 saves in the contest.
Trailing 1-0, the Westie Sharks evened the contest in the opening period when Hailey Azzarone scored off assists from Brooklyn Maher and Elena Losito. Hand took a 2-1 lead in the second period and added a pair of third period goals to pull away.
WH/SHA got back on the winning track with a 6-1 victory over Ridgefield. With the win, the Westie Sharks improved to 3-12-2.
Azzarone led the way with two goals, while Alina Lipinsky added one goal and two assists. Megan Losito was solid in goal, especially the first two periods when she turned aside 11 of 12 shots.
The Westie Sharks took a 3-0 lead in the first period when Olivia Twarowski scored off an assist from Stella Porto 1:26 in, Brooklyn Maher scored off assists from Lipinsky and Emma Galati with 5:05 remaining, and Azzarone scored off an assist from Lipinsky in the final 30 seconds.
The Westie Sharks scored twice in 24 seconds to open the second period when Azzarone scored off an assist from Maher 50 seconds in, and Paige Welch scored off assists from Twarowski and Galati less than 30 seconds later.
Lipinsky scored the only goal of the third period with an unassisted tally with 2:38 remaining.
The team looked to build a winning streak when they hosted Wilton on Senior Night. That victory never came as WH/SHA fell 2-1 to drop to 3-13-2 on the year.
DeSanto made 26 saves in the loss, including 14 in the first period.
After a scoreless first period, the Westie Sharks took a 1-0 lead 1:49 into the second period when Twarowski scored off assists from Alina Lipinsky and Stella Porto.
Wilton evened the game in the second and took the lead for good with 5:24 remaining in the contest.
The Westie Sharks returned to action Saturday and fell to SWS, 5-3, at the Bennett Rink. Losito made 22 saves in the loss.
West Haven/Sacred Heart Academy took a 1-0 lead 2:54 into the game when Lipinsky scored an unassisted goal. Trailing 3-1, the Westie Sharks got within a goal when Galati scored off assists from Twarowski and Elena Losito at the 6:36 mark of the second period.
Azzarone scored an unassisted goal in the final minute of the game for the 5-3 final.
The West Haven boys basketball team is proving to be a team no opponent is rooting to see in the postseason. Overcoming a seven-point fourth quarter deficit, the Westies rallied to top Hillhouse, 70-59.
The win was West Haven’s 11th in a row, including a pair of wins over Hillhouse, and helped the Westies improve to 14-1 on the season.
Aaron Johnson led the way with 32 points, including a clutch 3-pointer in the fourth quarter which gave the Westies the lead for good. Loshon Roman and K’naan Morris each scored 13 points.
West Haven led 14-12 after one quarter, but the Academics pumped in the points in the second quarter, putting a scare in West Haven as the Westies led 37-33. Hillhouse went on a 14-7 run to take a 47-44 lead and extended the margin to seven points, before the Westies fought back.
Johnson scored 15 of his points in the fourth quarter, including a pair of highlight reel dunks. West Haven held Hillhouse to just nine points from the field in the fourth quarter to pull away in the 11-point win.
The machine kept rolling as the Westies used a suffocating defense to top Guilford, 83-32. With the win, West Haven improved to 15-1.
Roman led the way with 21 points, Jordan Sirabionian and Johnson each had 15 points, and Brandon Bellamy, Jr. scored 12.
Leading by six points after one quarter, the game turned in an instant as the Westies held Guilford to just one field goal in the second quarter and led 33-13 at the half.
Trew Kitson, Morris, and Matt Morgan each drained 3-pointers in the second quarter, which saw West Haven pull away with an 18-4 run. West Haven led 57-28 in the third quarter as Johnson scored 10 points and Roman added six in the stanza.
After a 75-36 victory allowed West Haven to pick up win number 13 in a row and improve to 16-1, the Westies traveled to play Notre Dame.
In the first meeting of the battle of West Haven, the game was relatively over early as Notre Dame jumped out to a quick lead and won by 35 points. Round two was a bit different.
In a five-point game with less than five minutes to go, the top-ranked Green Knights closed the game on a 14-4 run to defeat the sixth-ranked West Haven, 72-57, at Notre Dame Thursday evening.
The Green Knights, who have not lost at home since 2018, won their seventh straight contest to improve to 16-3 on the year. With the victory, Notre Dame has also won 29 straight games against Connecticut competition, with its last loss coming at Hillhouse in January of 2025.
The Green Knights had to do things a little differently against their rivals as star Abdou Toure picked up his third foul with 2:39 left in the first quarter and his fourth foul with 2:17 left in the third. With Toure out of action with the foul trouble, Kadrian Reeves picked up the slack with a team-high 20 points.
The frenetic pace of the Westies and the absence of Toure allowed West Haven to go to the half even at 33. The Green Knights switched to a zone defense in the third quarter, and they took a 55-49 lead to the fourth quarter.
West Haven did not get closer as Toure entered the game with 4:31 remaining in the game, and the Green Knights closed the contest with the 10-point run.
The Westies got as close as 62-57 on a bucket by Sirabionian, but the Green Knights scored the final 10 points of the game, including six by Landon Krygier, giving him 1,002 points for his career.
Reeves scored the first six points of the game, and the Green Knights jumped out to an 8-1 lead. The pesky Westies got within 20-18 on a pair of free throws by Roman, but baskets by Eli Ssenyange and Quincy Dormevil extended the Notre Dame lead to six points.
A basket by Reeves and a 3-pointer by Toure started the third quarter, before a 3-pointer by Roman got West Haven as close as 42-39. A dunk by Aaron Johnson got West Haven within 47-44 with 2:55 left in the third, but the Westies never got within three points again.
Sirabionian had a game-high 24 points for West Haven, while Johnson finished with nine points.
The West Haven girls basketball team dropped its second decision in three games with a 49-40 loss at Hillhouse. With the loss, the Westies dropped to 10-5 on the year.
Noelle Lawrence led West Haven with 19 points in defeat.
The Westies got back on the winning track with a 59-51 victory over Foran on Senior Night to improve to 11-5.
Lawrence led the way with 26 points, 8 rebounds, 6 steals, and 4 assists. Tiranke Keita added 16 points and 13 rebounds. Fatoumata Keita had seven points and Madden Evangeliste had six points.
Lawrence scored eight points in the second quarter as the Westies led 38-33. The senior then added 10 points as West Haven scored 21 points in the third quarter. Tiranke Keita added six points in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
West Haven won its second straight contest with a 55-45 victory at Cheshire. The victory helped the Westies improve to 12-5 on the year.
Lawrence led the way with 24 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 steals. Timyra Rogers had 10 points, and Fatoumata Keita had nine points and 11 rebounds.
West Haven won its third straight contest and improved to 13-5 with a 45-35 home victory over Hand.
Lawrence led the way with 20 points, five rebounds and five steals. Tiranke Keita had 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Fatoumata Keita added six points and 15 rebounds.
The Westies led 16-10 after one quarter as Lawrence scored 12 points. Leading by five, the Westies increased the margin to 36-26 in the third as Jaecianna Mitchell and Tiranke Keita each scored five points.