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East Haven Girls’ Soccer Gaining Steam

The East Haven girls’ soccer team experienced a little bit of everything last week by coming away from the slate with a win, a loss, and a draw. With his club’s record of 2-3-1, Head Coach Jake Hackett said that the Yellowjackets need to rely on each other and continue playing as a team in order to reach their goals this season.

The Easties went up against Sheehan, Mercy, and West Haven in recent action. The Yellowjackets took a 2-0 loss at Sheehan on Sept. 20, played Mercy to a 1-1 tie in a home game two days later, and then claimed a 2-0 home victory over West Haven on Sept. 25.

Coach Hackett said that East Haven’s shutout loss to Sheehan was a bit of an eye-opener for the team. Following the loss, Hackett and his athletes talked about making a few changes on how they want to play their style of soccer.

“The loss to Sheehan was a tough one. It was a game we came into confidently, and things didn’t go our way. We hit a hard reset as a team,” said Hackett. “There were some things we needed to do on and off the field. We had a bunch of meetings and came together as a team and decided we wanted to do things differently. I think that’s what made the difference.”

Based on those discussions, Coach Hackett said that East Haven started to adopt an “us against the world” mentality. The Yellowjackets understand that they aren’t the biggest team in the Southern Connecticut Conference, but Hackett feels confident that they will succeed if everyone has each other’s back and puts forth their best effort every game.

“We’re a small program compared to a lot of the programs in the SCC. We have to stay positive with each other,” Hackett said. “We’re going to fight every game. We’re trying to be the best versions of ourselves every day. Yesterday’s hard work isn’t good enough today. The girls are encouraging each other.”

East Haven returned to the field to host Mercy on Sept. 23 and battled the Tigers to a 1-1 tie. Junior Sydney Herard scored the equalizer for the Easties in the 55th minute after Mercy had gone up 1-0 about 10 minutes earlier. Sophomore goalie Seralyn Lendroth made 21 saves to help the Yellowjackets earn a point in the standings with the draw.

“Mercy is a strong program. To play in a tie where we had chances to win the game was a huge confidence builder for us,” said Hackett.

East Haven finished off its week by posting a 2-0 shutout over West Haven in a home game on Sept. 25. Senior captain Emily Pycela scored both goals for the Easties during the opening half. Pycela’s first goal came off an assist by Herard in the 15th minute, after which she netted her second goal from junior Gianna Mendez in the 25th minute of the contest. Lendroth made 11 saves to help Coach Hackett’s squad defeat the Blue Devils.

“West Haven is always strong competition. They play hard,” Coach Hackett said. “The game could have went either way, but we came out on top. I’m really proud of how the girls bounced back.”

East Haven’s win over West Haven marked Lendroth’s first career shutout as a varsity goalie. Lendroth is starting in net for the first time this season after having previously served as the backup to Angelina Munoz. With her shutout against West Haven and the 21 saves versus Mercy, Coach Hackett said that Lendroth has become a major asset for East Haven and is a netminder with immense potential.

“Filling Angelina Munoz’s shoes is not an easy thing. Sera has been putting in the work. She decided to play at another level. She came up with some huge saves for us against Mercy,” said Hackett. “I know what kind of potential she has at goalkeeper, and I think she’s starting to see it, too. She is playing great, talking in the back, and stepping up in huge moments.”

Coach Hackett has also been impressed with the performance of the Yellowjackets’ defenders and midfielders thus far this season. Hackett said that senior Jocelyn Lucero, Mendez, and fellow junior Gabriella Gaetano have all stepped up in the midfield, while seniors Kate Pycela and Alex Castro are proving key components of the team’s defense. Hackett added that freshman Hannah Dudley, who started against Mercy and West Haven, can be a difference maker on defense this year.

Heading into the season, senior defender Emily Mazzucco was East Haven’s only captain. Now, Emily Pycela and senior forward Anajha Nelson have joined Mazzucco in the captain’s role. As his team build smomentum for the second half of the season, Coach Hackett said that his captains are doing a great job of keeping everyone together.

“My captains have really proved to me why they’re captains. They all said we have to get together as a team,” said Hackett. “It shows great leadership. It’s what is going to help us. The high school season is a marathon at a sprint pace. You have to be there for each other.”

Coach Hackett is hoping that East Haven can qualify for both SCCs and states this season. First and foremost, though, Hackett wants the Yellowjackets to focus on improving every day, so they can feel proud of themselves whenever they walk off the pitch.

“We still have the goals of wanting to be in the State Tournament and trying to win it. When we get there, we’ll take it game by game. I think we have a good chance of being in the SCC Tournament, as well,” Hackett said. “Most importantly, we want to be proud of ourselves and our team, no matter the outcomes.”