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11/11/2018 11:00 PMVolleyball
The North Haven volleyball team opened up the Class L State Tournament by recording a first-round win against Hand last week, after which the Indians were eliminated from the bracket when they took a defeat versus Kennedy in a second-round matchup. North Haven finished its campaign with an overall record of 16-6.
On Nov. 5, the 11th-seeded Indians hosted No. 22 seed Hand and defeated the Tigers by the final score of 3-1. North Haven took a 23-25 loss for the first set, but came back to take the next three sets by scores of 25-19, 25-19, and 25-16. Senior Olivia Peterson handed out 27 assists, while fellow senior Peyton Davis had 10 aces to go with nine kills and five digs in the victory. Senior Giselle Zumerchik recorded 14 kills with nine digs, and junior Melissa Seidemann added seven kills and three blocks for North Haven.
Three days later, the Indians headed to Waterbury to play No. 6 seed Kennedy and dropped a 3-0 decision to the Eagles behind scores of 25-18, 25-22, and 25-21. Zumerchik had six aces with four kills and three digs, while fellow senior Carly Brown contributed 12 digs in the match.
In their third season with Head Coach Brianna Kleckner, the Indians posted a mark of 14-4 in the regular season to qualify for states for the first time in a few years. Then in the SCC Tournament, North Haven earned a 3-0 win over West Haven, before losing to Guilford in the quarterfinal round.
Boys’ Soccer
The North Haven boys’ soccer squad notched a victory versus Crosby in the first round of the Class L State Tournament, before taking a loss against Hand in a second-round game last week. The Indians finished with an overall record of 9-7-2 in their second campaign with Head Coach Reid Chieffo.
No. 19 seed North Haven opened play in the Class L state bracket by hitting the road to face No. 14 seed Crosby in Waterbury on Nov. 6. The Indians posted a 1-0 shutout over the Bulldogs to advance into the second round. Following a scoreless first half, junior Tillman McFadden scored the only goal of the game on an assist from senior Ben Blumenthal with 24 minutes to play.
Two days later, the Indians were back on the road to face No. 3 seed Hand at the Surf Club in Madison. North Haven took a 2-0 defeat against the Tigers in the second-round contest.
Prior to states, North Haven went 8-6-2 during the regular season to make states for the first time in several years this year.
Girls’ Swimming and Diving
Junior Ava Santacroce finished in fourth place on behalf of North Haven at last week’s Class M Diving State Championship. Santacroce totaled a score of 388.80 points to take fourth place among 25 divers for her 11-dive routine at Bulkeley High School in Waterbury on Nov. 7. She had previously placed second at the SCC Championship with a score of 391.90.
With her performance at states, Santacroce scored points for North Haven that carried over when the Indians competed at the Class M Swimming State Championship at Wesleyan University on Nov. 13 (after press time). Santacroce also qualified to compete at the State Open Diving Championship at Middletown High School at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 15. The State Open Swimming Championship takes place at Yale University at noon on Saturday, Nov. 17.
Football
The North Haven football team traveled to Fairfield University to take on Fairfield Prep in a battle between two SCC Tier 1 heavyweights on Nov. 10. The Indians took a 42-20 defeat against the Jesuits at Rafferty Stadium to move to 7-2 overall with a record of 3-2 in SCC Tier 1 this season. North Haven is now ranked in the No. 7 spot for the Class L State Playoff rankings in which the top eight teams qualify. Fairfield Prep went to 8-1 overall and 4-1 in Tier 3 with the win.
Fairfield Prep held a 7-0 lead after one quarter and took a 21-6 advantage into halftime against North Haven. The Jesuits then scored the first two touchdowns of the second half to make it 35-6 on their way to the victory.
Prep used an 8-yard touchdown pass from John Iaropoli to Sam Roberto to take a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. The game stayed that way until junior Max Augustine scored on a 6-yard touchdown run for North Haven to cut it to 7-6 in the second quarter. Later in the period, Iaropoli found Finn Duran on a 61-yard TD pass to put Fairfield Prep up 14-6. Zach Sheehan later scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to give Fairfield Prep a 21-6 advantage at the break.
Doug Harrison ran for a 4-yard touchdown in the third quarter to give the Jesuits a 28-6 lead entering the fourth. Harrison then scored on a 24-yard touchdown run to make it 35-6. On the next drive, senior Albert Hooks rushed for a 46-yard touchdown for North Haven. Fellow senior Devan Brockamer followed by taking in the 2-point conversion to make it 35-14. Fairfield Prep came back with an 8-yard TD run from TJ Walton to for a 42-14 lead. Senior Shamus Meehan scored on a 5-yard touchdown run for the Indians to make the score 42-20.
The Indians will try to clinch a spot in the Class L State Playoffs when they finish their regular season by hosting SCC Tier 2 opponent Amity (5-4) in the 23rd edition of the teams’ annual Thanksgiving Day rivalry game on Thursday, Nov. 22. The game kicks off at 10 a.m. at Vanacore Field. North Haven has defeated the Spartans in each of the past nine seasons.