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11/18/2020 11:00 PMAs East Haven boys’ soccer squad battled through the rigors of a year earmarked by COVID-19, the Yellowjackets did so featuring several seniors who didn’t even play for the team last season. Head Coach Mike Papantonio said that these seniors proved crucial in helping the Easties improve their record, while staying connected as the season progressed.
East Haven only won one game during the 2019 campaign. This year, the Yellowjackets finished with a record of 4-6 and put together their first three-game win streak since 2009.
Forward Luis Agudelo and defender Victor Calvillo were two of the seniors who helped East Haven turn things around by returning to the program this year. Agudelo had seven goals with four assists on the season. Both athletes earned spots on the All-SCC Division B Team as a result of their performances throughout the season.
“To get Luis and Victor back after a year’s hiatus was massive. We can build a program around kids like that. To get them to come back their senior year and to invest in it the way that they did, that’s the difference between last year and this year,” Coach Papantonio said. “To take those two kids and insert them in the middle of the field, it tightened everything else up. All the holes we had last year, we buttoned it up with those two kids.”
East Haven also saw defenders Gianmarco Presiado and Justin Carillo, backup goalkeeper Tyrone Solorzano, and midfielder/forward Zachary Sayers come back to the team as seniors this year. The Yellowjackets’ senior class also featured returning athletes like senior captain defender Mat Torres, senior captain goalkeeper Asa Myers, forward Leandro Soto-Molina, and Junnyor Torres and Kelvin Morocho, who each played forward and midfielder.
Coach Papantonio said that his seniors did an excellent job of showing the team’s underclassmen what it takes to perform at the varsity level.
“We had 11 seniors this year. It was a solid mix of returning veterans, pieces we were missing, and we ended up using others in different spots. It was good for the younger kids to see the sense of pride to take a year off and come back,” said Papantonio. “It shows that they wanted to be a part of the team, and they were willing to put in the work to compete.”
While he was impressed by his returning seniors, Coach Papantonio understands he can’t expect to have numerous varsity-ready upperclassmen returning to his program every year. Papantonio is hoping to see some fresh faces come up from the middle school ranks as he tries to continue building the culture of East Haven boys’ soccer. Papantonio wants to develop a program in which every athlete feels proud to represent the Easties.
“We had a couple alumni able to come to a couple practices and games this year. It’s that sense of family in the community and that culture where people just want to be a part of it,” Papantonio said. “We want kids to be proud to wear the East Haven logo. If it’s in school, if it’s around town—we want them to wear the gear proudly and play with a sense of pride.”
During the regular season, East Haven recorded two victories against Whitney Tech (6-1 and 2-0) to go with a 3-2 win versus Career-Hillhouse and a 3-2 victory over Branford. The Yellowjackets then competed in the SCC Division B Tournament, but had to play Guilford without several players who were sidelined due to quarantine measures. Although his squad took a 9-0 loss to Guilford in the game, Coach Papantonio felt that it was beneficial for his players to get a taste of postseason play.
“We had a couple of chances, but we just didn’t have the bodies to go a full 80 minutes,” said Papantonio. “It was a taste of where we want the program to be and a taste of a game we haven’t really seen.”
As the Easties look toward next season, Coach Papantonio said that they will be relying a lot on current sophomore Christofher Torres on the offensive side of the ball. Torres was a spark for the Yellowjackets’ offense this year, and Papantonio is hoping that he will continue to take charge as a leader during his junior season.
Like many teams, the 2020 edition of the East Haven boys’ soccer squad had to deal with its fair share of hardships this fall. When all was said and done, the Yellowjackets were able to mesh together to see major improvements on the field, while taking some big steps in terms of sending the program in the right direction.
“It was great being back. We got a great bit of respect at the end-of-the-year SCC coaches’ meeting. Not everyone got to see our best product and not everyone got to see us in full strength, but they were impressed by how much better the team got,” Papantonio said. “It speaks to the level of play and the effort we put in. We took giant strides this year. We want to be able to maintain that success.”
The East Haven boys’ soccer team’s roster included senior captains Mat Torres and Asa Myers; fellow seniors Tyrone Solorzano, Leandro Soto-Molina, Gianmarco Presiado, Luis Agudelo, Junnyor Torres, Victor Calvillo, Justin Carillo, Kelvin Morocho, and Zachary Sayers; juniors Kevin Phan, Anthony Sawicki, Merab Nabi, Victor Rolon, Brayan Crespo, Ethar Al-hawari, Frank Annunziato, and Thanh Ngo; sophomores Nate Rivera, Christofher Torres, and Manuel Crespo; and freshmen Dom Rivera, Bryan Luna, Gregory Vera, Marvin Cardenas, and Freddy Lucero.