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11/01/2015 11:00 PMThe East Haven girls’ soccer team finished the greatest regular season in program history last week. The Yellowjackets ended that portion of the campaign at 11-3-2, which marks their best all-time record. The 2015 season also saw East Haven post the program’s first winning record, claim its first outright SCC Oronoque Division title, and earn a trip to the SCC Tournament.
The Yellowjackets dropped a 3-2 decision in overtime to Shelton in the SCC quarterfinals and now get ready to compete in the Class L State Tournament.
“We had never had a winning record before. Last season at 7-8-2 was the record. In the 20 years of the program, the school had never had a winning record before,” Head Coach Ray Curren said. “When we started, we knew that we could play with every team on the schedule and that’s how it worked out. Megan Kikosicki, who was named the SCC Player of Year, had 28 of the 35 goals that we had and she had six assists. There was only one goal all season that she wasn’t involved in and that’s just ridiculous.”
Still, it’s more than just offense that’s been driving East Haven all season. The Yellowjackets’ other All-Oronoque Team members—Caitlin Esposito, AnnMarie DiNicola, and Chiara Fusco—all play on defense.
“We also had to keep the other teams off the board and that’s where the defense came in. They did a great job,” Curren said. “That shows that our defense was pretty darn good this year. That was a key as they only allowed 13 goals in the whole regular season. It’s really impressive.”
On Oct. 26, East Haven defeated Sheehan 1-0 to claim win No. 11. Kikosicki scored about five minutes into the second half to give the Yellowjackets a redemption win as Sheehan had topped the Easties earlier in the year.
“It was a really good win. They had 11 wins, so they had a good season,” Curren said. “We knew it was tough and, obviously, they beat us the first time, but it was a good 1-0 win on the road against a good team on their Senior Night.”
East Haven then took a 1-0 defeat to Sacred Heart Academy in the final game of the regular season on Oct. 29. The Pacers scored early in the second half and held East Haven off the board. The loss cost the Yellowjackets a chance to host its quarterfinal game in the SCC Tournament.
“We didn’t play badly. We just couldn’t get a goal,” Curren said. “The girls were disappointed because it was Senior Night and it made us unfortunately go on the road for the SCC game. If we had won or tied, we would’ve played at home.”
So then on Oct. 31, No. 5 seed East Haven went on the road to No. 4 Shelton in the quarterfinals of the SCC Tournament and dropped a 3-2 contest in overtime. Shelton scored about 10 minutes into the game, but Kikosicki answered just before the first-half whistle. Marley Herard threw the ball in with five seconds to go in the half and Kikosicki launched a shot from 35 yards out that crossed the goal line with 0.3 ticks left. That provided momentum for East Haven and Kikosicki later put the Yellowjackets ahead 2-1 on a free kick from 30 yards out. The Yellowjackets had the lead, but Shelton’s Kaleigh Panek and Kathryn Arena scored in regulation and overtime, respectively, to advance Shelton to the next round.
“If you told me at the beginning of the season we’d be playing Shelton in the SCC quarterfinals, I’d be thrilled,” Curren said. “When you had the lead with 10 minutes left, that’s where it gets disappointing.”
It was a tough loss for the girls to take, but Coach Curren knows that his squad now needs to focus on states.
“They were crushed after the game. They were devastated and I felt bad for them. I said to them that we’re all hurting. That’s a tough way to go out. To see the goal go in, their whole team run onto the field, and they even had some students there run on the field, it’s tough,” he said. “It’s hard, but we’re not done. We still have the states.”
• East Haven’s 11 wins are the most in Yellowjackets’ girls’ soccer history.
• Megan Kikosicki’s total of 28 goals is another East Haven record.
• East Haven is expected to have the No. 11 seed in the Class L State Tournament and play at least one home game.