The North Haven girls’ soccer team saw some ebbs and flows throughout the course of its regular season. Yet it only helped prepare the girls to embark on a playoff push that would see them thrive under pressure and attain heart-stopping victories to cap a storybook season.

This fall, the Nighthawks accumulated a 9-6-1 regular season record to qualify for the Class L State Tournament as the 16th seed. There, North Haven scored a thrilling double-overtime 3-2 triumph over No. 17 Rockville at home in the first round and then upset top-seeded Suffield 4-3 in the next round. The magical run concluded with a 4-0 loss to ninth-ranked New Canaan in the quarterfinals to bring its final overall mark to 11-7-1.

In a run that saw the Nighthawks put a total of 50 balls into the back of the net, Head Coach Gary Collins said the November march was coordinated all the way back in the days of August with a lengthy conditioning camp. From there, the team assembled and assigned their collective targets for the year and met almost every one of them.

“The season started with offseason planning of conditioning and technical workout plans for the team. We discussed what we would like to accomplish as a team and for the players,” said Collins. “We had six weeks of conditioning and technical sessions, followed by a camp before going into preseason. Once we had the full team in for preseason, we met and talked about the goals we wanted to accomplish. Looking at the schedule, the coaches saw it was an opportunity for us to go further with the season. So, we set three goals for the team: make it to states with a winning record, make a run to the SCC Tournament, and host a first round game for states.”

Then with the objectives intact, North Haven had a very successful four-game preseason slate, getting the players in good physical condition and a sound game prepping mentality. The Nighthawks then got into the games that counted in the standings with a solid Opening Day win over Lauralton Hall. The Nighthawks knew it would be an up and down battle and later finished the opening half of the slate just above the .500 mark.

“We had four preseason games to figure out how to incorporate the new players and find out if they can compete at the varsity level,” said Collins. “Going into the first game of the season against Lauralton, we stressed the importance of getting off to a fast start, but the main focus was performance more than winning. We played very well and came out with a 5-1 win. That set the tone for us going into the second game, which was unfortunately an early meeting with Mercy. We lost 4-0 but did play well, and we took the positives out of the game and worked on them in practice. Those first two games gave us some idea of how we should approach our practices. The next few games, we were up and down a bit and finished the first half of the season 4-3-1.”

Into the back half, the Nighthawks felt strongly about their prospects to punch their state tournament ticket, though they knew they had to grab some critical victories to make SCCs. The girls came up just shy of that draw, though they fought to stay at home for at least one contest of the state tournament.

“Unfortunately for us, we had to beat Amity to get into SCCs. We lost that game and missed out on the tiebreaker with Cheshire, which tied Amity. We didn’t let this stop us from achieving the biggest goal of all in having that home game for states,” said Collins. “We had to get to nine wins to be in a good position to host the first game. We were on pace going into the last game of the season after beating Foran, West Haven, Wilbur Cross, and Lyman Hall. Lauralton Hall was the last game of the season, and it was a must-win game for us. We played a very good first half and were up 3-0 before winning 4-2.”

During the year, Collins and his staff made some on-field personnel changes. Yet no matter the switches, each athlete maintained mental strength through the rousing success gained in victories.

“The team grew in confidence throughout the regular season, as the girls worked hard in the training session, but we knew we had to prepare them for a high intensity level,” said Collins. “We had made some positional changes during the second half with moving [senior captain] Hannah Bernando out to left back and [senior captain] Alison Palmieri to center back. That change was to get us a better balance attacking by having a left-footed outside back.”

Missing out on the conference bracket created some down time from in-game action, though North Haven stayed active and kept up its momentum in practice. The Nighthawks also well-prepared themselves for the high-stakes scenarios of the postseason.

“As we sat back and waited to see who our opponent would be and if we would be hosting the first round game, we continued our training sessions and planning. The first round game was awarded to us against Rockville High School,” said Collins. “The girls worked on everything, including penalty kicks if the game were to go in that direction. After one scrimmage with the penalty kick shootout, we were very confident that we could perform at a high level based on the preparations and the work the girls put in.”

In the contest vs. Rockville, North Haven took control and dominated the first half by scoring two goals. In the second half, the Nighthawks allowed the opponent to tie the game and force overtime. In the extra session, sophomore Olivia Ranciato scored the winning goal with two minutes left.

When facing Suffield, a squad with a perfect regular season while averaging about five goals per win, the Nighthawks only had a day to assess the formidable adversary. North Haven created a few chances earlier on in the game. Eventually, the visitors unlocked Suffield’s defense with a through ball from sophomore Ava Tarasuk to classmate Maya Thompson to score. Suffield scored a few minutes later to knot the game up.

In the second half, the home side nabbed two early goals to push ahead, 3-1. In the last 14 minutes, North Haven would not relent and seized the opportunity, getting back into the game after Tarasuk was fouled in the penalty area and a penalty kick was awarded. Senior captain Andrea August stepped up and calmly placed her shot in the far corner of the net.

A few minutes later, Tarasuk got a shot off, and Ranciato scored off the rebound to even the contest. With 4:30 left in the game, Tarasuk fought off her defender and delivered a precise cross pass for a perfect headed goal by Thompson to cap the comeback decision.

“It was a true testament to what the girls had done this year with all the work they had put in for the season,” said Collins. “It was a truly remarkable moment and accomplishment for the team and players, but most of all, the program.”

North Haven’s leading goal scorer was Ranciato with 10 goals and four assists. Thompson added nine goals and a trop of helpers, plus Tarasuk contributed a blanched season statline of seven tallies and seven assists. Freshman Gia Giaimo added six goals and two assists. Platooning goalkeepers senior Alivia Garnett and sophomore Addison Whitcomb shared five shutouts.

Senior defender and captain Bernardo finished her career as a four-time SCC All-Division, three-time All-SCC, and All-State Team selection after starting every game of her tenure. Ranciato made the SCC All-Division Team and was named First Team All-SCC.

The 2024 captains were seniors Palmieri, Andrea August, and Bernardo. Collins commended this trio for seeing the bigger picture each and every day by always aiming to help the person next to them reach their max potential.

“They did an outstanding job as leaders on and off the field,” said Collins. “They took on tasks with open minds and worked hard on the field. They led by example and were always willing to help their teammates to be at their best. Each one brought a different leadership that balanced out the team and helped to accomplish the goals that were set. I am very proud of the senior group.”

Palmeri was voted Sportsmanship Award winner by the team and was a CIAC Scholar Athlete of the Month. Freshman Eva Hall was voted Most Improved Player by the squad, Bernardo was bestowed with the Team MVP honor, and August was the Coaches’ Award winner.

While the seniors' contributions will be sorely missed, the optimism surrounding the future of the Nighthawks is very high. After a tremendous run that saw them as one of the final eight teams in their state tournament, the girls are ready to make even more history in 2025 and beyond.

“We have a good core group of players that played major roles this year that will and should provide the necessary experience for us to continue building up the program,” said Collins, who was assisted by Jennifer Yokley this fall. “We are losing three quality players in key positions that we will have to evaluate upon coming in next season with the new players and see who can play up to the varsity level. Playing spring soccer is the key for the players. It’s always good when you have players that play competitive soccer at a very good level with their club teams. The coaches will do the necessary work in the offseason to make sure players have some preparation and get themselves ready for the season. It was truly a remarkable historical season for North Haven High School, the players, and the program.”

The 2024 North Haven roster was comprised of seniors Palmieri, Bernardo, August, Garnett; juniors Faith Nicholas, Carly Ryan; sophomores Whitcomb, Elaina Solimene, Alyannah Santos, Ranciato, Thompson, Tarasuk, Olivia McBride, Leila Sweet; plus freshmen Olivia Palmieri, Giaimo, Sofia Gamboa, Hall, Zoe Drum, and Elizabeth Garcia.

2024 North Haven Girls’ Soccer Regular Season Results

Sept. 3: North Haven 5, Lauralton Hall 1

Sept. 7: Mercy 4, North Haven 0

Sept. 10: North Haven 1, Sacred Heart Academy 1

Sept. 12: North Haven 2, Lyman Hall 1

Sept. 17: North Haven 8, Cross 0

Sept. 20: North Haven 3, West Haven 0

Sept. 23: Foran 1, North Haven 0

Sept. 25: Amity 2, North Haven 0

Oct. 1: Mercy 1, North Haven 0

Oct. 4: Sacred Heart Academy 1, North Haven 0

Oct. 7: North Haven 6, Lyman Hall 1

Oct. 9: North Haven 9, Cross 0

Oct. 11: North Haven 3, West Haven 0

Oct. 14: North Haven 1, Foran 0

Oct. 18: Amity 5, North Haven 1

Oct. 21: North Haven 4, Lauralton Hall 2