The West Haven football team had high hopes entering the 2024 season. Just one game in, the Westies are forced to regroup.
Unable to capitalize offensively, and watching as Greenwich took advantage of big plays, fourth-ranked West Haven fell to fifth-ranked Greenwich, 24-6, at Ken Strong Stadium Friday evening.
Greenwich led 14-0 at the half and never looked back as they used two quick scores in the first quarter to set the tone. Both scores came within Greenwich’s first ten offensive plays.
Matthew O’Donnell scored on a 32-yard scoring strike from M.J. D’Angelo for a 7-0 lead, before Greenwich immediately got the ball back on a West Haven turnover on the ensuing kickoff. The Cardinals turned that possession into a D’Angelo 23-yard touchdown run four plays later.
The Westies could not sustain any momentum and any threats were stalled by West Haven mistakes, including ten penalties.
West Haven’s lone score came in the final two minutes when Coryon Harris scored on a 54-yard connection with Nick Conlan.
The volleyball team knew it was in for a tough match to start the season. Going against perennial state power Cheshire in the season opener for both teams is no easy task.
While the Westies battled, they could not get over the hump and fell to the Rams 25-21, 25-16, and 25-18 at Cheshire High..
Camila Queiroz finished with 11 assists, Sarah Davey had 14 digs, Avery Criscio had 12 digs, while Sam Close and Criscio each added four kills. Chloe Payne had three kills in the loss.
For Cheshire, Lauren Kilpatrick had 18 assists and Eva Catalonatto finished with 13 kills.
Looking to build off a strong showing in a loss to Cheshire in the season opener, West Haven hosted Lauralton Hall in the home opener for the Westies.
While the effort was there, West Haven again was shut out, falling to Lauralton 25-11, 25-18, 25-18 at West Haven High.
The season will have its ups and downs,” Sullivan said after his team fell to 0-2. “We were faced again with a battle that is going to get us better prepared for the future. Tomorrow is a new day for new opportunities to get better.”
Queiroz led the offense with 18 assists, Payne had 10 kills, Amani Dumbuya added 10 digs, and Davey had six digs.
West Haven fell to 0-3 with a 3-0 loss against St. Joseph-Trumbull at West Haven High. The 25-17, 25-14, 25-12 loss came in the team’s home opener.
West Haven made 54 team errors in the contest for an average of 18 per game. The Westies had just 18 total assists, 18 kills, and 31 digs as a team.
Queiroz led the Westies with nine assists, four digs and three kills. Payne led West Haven with six kills, and Criscio had five digs and four kills. Davey, Dumbuya, and Jayden Braacker each added four digs in the loss.
West Haven is still in search of its first victory. Despite playing well, the Westies dropped a 25-13, 25-22, 25-21 decision at Foran.
The loss was West Haven’s fourth straight to open the season, and the Westies are still searching for their first set win in the process.
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Queiroz ran the West Haven offense with 21 assists, while also posting eight digs on the defensive side. Davey also played well defensively with nine digs, Criscio had five digs, and Payne had four digs.
Kearlze Marquis led West Haven with six kills, Close added five kills, and Davey and Payne each had four kills.
West Haven fell to 0-5 on the year with a 3-1 home loss against Wilbur Cross. Although the Westies fell, they did pick up their first set win of the season in the 25-14, 17-25, 25-23, 25-18 loss.
Queiroz led West Haven with 19 assists, eight digs, and three kills. Criscio led the defense with 11 digs, Dumbuya had eight digs, Davey, Odalys Solorzano, and Braacker each had six digs, while Esther Ortiz had four digs.
Close led West Haven with seven kills, while Payne and Marquis each had five kills. Payne also had four aces.
West Haven fell to 0-6 with a 3-0 loss at Sacred Heart Academy Friday evening. The scores of the contest were 25-22, 25-12, and 25-12.
The girls soccer team opened the season in exciting fashion. While it did not produce a win, there was an exciting comeback and a stellar individual performance.
Trailing 4-1 in the second half, the Westies rallied to tie Hamden, 5-5, in the season opener for both teams at Hamden High.
Senior Jaylyn Powell was the star of the game for the Westies as she scored all five West Haven goals, including four second half tallies to bring West Haven to a draw after falling behind early.
Freshman Kylie Gibbons, junior Ericka Tighe, sophomore Amiyah Jones, and senior Annabelle Pasacreta all had assists for the Westies. Freshman Lulu Sebas made three saves.
West Haven fell to 0-1-1 with a 5-1 loss against Sacred Heart Academy. The defeat came in the home opener for the Westies.
After scoring all five of her team’s goals against Hamden in the season opener, Powell scored West Haven’s lone goal off an assist from Amiyah Jones in the second half.
Sacred Heart Academy scored three times in the first half and added two more in the second. Sebas made 15 saves in the loss for West Haven.
West Haven fell to 0-2-1 with a 5-2 loss at Jonathan Law.
Powell continued her torrid start to the season with her seventh goal in the first three games. Powell has scored seven of her team’s first eight goals on the year.
Senior Aylin Soto also scored for the Westies, while Tighe had an assist in the loss.
Emily Vella scored three times for Law, while Abby Merenda scored twice. Gabby Rodriguez made four saves in the win for Law, while the Westies had eight saves in the loss.
West Haven fell to Laualton Hall, 3-2, in Milford, dropping the team to 0-3-1. The Westies scored once in each half on tallies by Powell, but it was not enough in the defeat.
The boys soccer team opened the 2024 season against cross-town rival Notre Dame. The contest proved to be one-sided.
Behind three goals from Christian Habiniak, the Green Knights rolled past West Haven, 7-0, at Veterans Field.
Notre Dame held a 17-8 shot advantage in the game. Ned Ramos recorded the shutout for the Green Knights with six saves, while Yahzeel Beyley had 10 saves in the loss for the Westies.
West Haven fell to 0-2 with a 2-0 loss against Guilford in West Haven’s home opener.
Guilford’s Stephano Jarrin scored twice and the Westies could not capitalize on their opportunities, outshooting Guilford, 10-8.
Beyley finished with six saves for West Haven, while Jameson Benben had seven saves for the Grizzlies.
West Haven won its first game of the season with a 3-0 decision over Amity at home.
West Haven took a 2-0 lead in the first half as Bryan Monge scored an unassisted tally at the 23:18 mark, before senior Matthew Hunter scored off an assist from Monge at 28:30.
The Westies iced the game in the second half when senior Walter Romero scored off an assist from senior Ethan Masoperh at 66:00 mark.
West Haven held a 15-7 shot advantage in the contest. Beyley made five saves in the shutout victory.
West Haven topped Hamden, 2-1, at Ken Strong Stadium. Trailing 1-0 after Hamden scored at the 24 minute mark, the Westies scored twice in the second half to pick up the victory.
Hunter got the Westies even when he scored off an assist from Bobby Severino at 66:32. Just 9:53 later, West Haven took the lead for good when Youssouf Keira scored off an assist from Aidan Panton at 76:25.
The Westies held a 12-7 shot advantage in the contest. Beyley made six saves in the win for the Westies.
The West Haven girls swim team opened the 2024 season with a meet in Milford against Foran. Winning just four events, the Westies fell to Foran, 84-76, in the season opener for both teams.
Freshman Sophia DeLauri won two events for the Westies, taking home the top spot in the 100 fly in 1 minute, 17.85 seconds, and the 100 breaststroke in 1:27.52.
Freshman Natalia Lowe won the 100 backstroke in 1:23.81, while the 400 free relay team of seniors Emily Guthrie, Caly Nyack, Olivia DeLauri, and Amanda Fagnani won in 4:56.11.