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09/16/2016 12:00 AMIt’s the beginning of a new era for the North Haven girls’ soccer team. The Indians have a new head coach in Rocco Christiana, who wants build the program from the ground up with an aim to make North Haven one of the area’s prominent squads. It might not be the easiest road to travel as the Indians are coming off a couple of sub-.500 seasons, but Christiana’s club got a nice boost out of the starting gate by winning its second game of the campaign, 1-0, at Lyman Hall on Sept. 13.
Christiana, who owns a wealth of experience as both a soccer player and a coach, joined the Indians as their JV coach last fall. This marks Christiana’s first season as a head coach of a varsity squad and he’s honored to have that job in a town he feels is filled with talented, up-and-coming soccer players.
“I think it’s a privilege and a blessing. One of the big reasons why I came back is because I really like the girls and see tremendous potential with them,” said Christiana. “The girls need proper structure for the program to develop and get to the next level. I saw there was some good quality coming up from middle school and I thought it would be a rebuilding process. I knew that they had it in them. They just needed the right coach, the right program, and the type of organization where we can learn and, eventually, I’m hoping that I will be able to do that while coaching these girls.”
Christiana said his athletes are working hard while enduring some diligent practices and that he’s already seen tremendous progression, saying that, “from the very first practice to our first game, it’s a completely different team.” After taking a 2-0 loss to Branford in their season opener, the Indians’ progression was on full display during last week’s 1-0 triumph over Lyman Hall.
It was a blustery afternoon when North Haven locked horns with the Trojans in Wallingford. The Indians were going into the wind during the first half and so they clamped down to keep Lyman Hall off the board with an eye toward striking with the wind at their back in the latter stanza. The contest remained scoreless until there was three minutes left, when senior Elya Paolillo took a feed from freshman Erika Holle, had a 1-on-1 with the Trojans’ goalie, and blasted it past her to give North Haven a 1-0 lead. Coach Christiana called the goal “absolutely spectacular.” After that, North Haven settled things down, worked the clock, and saw its defenders continue their strong play to help junior goalie Angela Sanzari post the shutout.
Christiana said his team was going crazy when Paolillo netted the winning goal and knows it was critical for North Haven to promptly put its initial victory in the books.
“They were all in the circle in the middle of the field and were elated from the goal...When the goal went in the back of the net, the bench and the field exploded and so were all the parents in the stands who are hoping we have a successful season,” Christiana said. “We started right off the bat and were elated. The bleachers were going wild, the girls were hugging each other, and the bench was screaming. It was an exciting moment to start the season right and get an early win.”
North Haven features two senior captains in center back Maria Scarano and attacking wing Emily Shea. Christiana said he’s been impressed with how the tandem has piloted the Indians thus far, calling them “two excellent leaders” who are “the heart and soul of the team.” However, Christiana added that he wants all of his upperclass athletes to be leaders and so he’s counting on the club’s seven other seniors to also fulfill that role. Along with the captains and Paolillo, the Indians’ senior class features attacking midfielder Natalie Acquarulo; first-year player Gabriella Barcomb, who plays wing; Lauren Carboni, who’s also captain of the JV team; Kristin Lynch, a center back/holding midfielder; Kayla Rodriguez, and left wing Joslin Valiyaveettil.
“Natalie is a very strong player and controls the center of our field. Gabriella is a new girl who came in from West Virginia and she shows great promise and athletic ability,” Christiana said. “Lauren is so versatile that you can put here anywhere on the field, and she’s a great leader of our JV program. Kristin is one of our strongest and most intelligent players we have on the field.”
“Kayla is a versatile player that I can put anywhere at any time. Her heart, athletic ability, and desire to play soccer is one of the most impressive things I’ve ever seen. By far, she is one of the biggest leaders and go-to people I can use at any time, anywhere. She is the rock of this team,” he continued. “Joslin worked with me on JV last year and we brought her up to varsity this year. Her focus and consistency as a player are great and her overall attitude is one of her best attributes that I wish every kid had.”
As he dives deeper into his first year as North Haven’s head coach, Christiana feels confident that the Indians can continue compiling victories if they replicate the energy and chemistry they played with in the Lyman Hall win.
“We came into the Lyman Hall game with the right attitude and game-plan. We played strong, we played focused, and we played as a team. They’ve always been disconnected as a team, but they played very well together, and now they all have each other’s backs out there and work well together, which is something that I think will help bring us more big wins this year,” he said. “The main goal is bringing a quality program back to North Haven. If we work hard and stay focused, success will come, and that’s what I told the girls and their parents from day one. It’s just a matter of time. We’re just happy that the time came really quick this year.”
From the Sidelines
Joining first-year Head Coach Rocco Christiana at North Haven this season are varsity assistants Antonio Scarano and Maria Sanzari, who are alums of the Indians’ boys’ and girls’ soccer programs, respectively. Scarano is also the girls’ JV head coach, while Sanzari works with the goalies at both the varsity and JV levels.
In addition to everyone already mentioned, North Haven’s varsity roster features juniors Claire Fresher (outer back), Shelby Tomaszewski (attacking midfielder), and Kate Tullo (right wing); sophomores Zoe Bowerman (left wing), Kelly Fresher (holding midfielder), Quinn Kirby (holding midfielder), Katie Rogers (center back), Camille Sahirul (holding midfielder), and Annie Uyeki (holding midfielder); plus freshman Raven Tebbetts (outer back/wing).