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09/21/2015 12:00 AMFootball
In what was the longest game in SCC history, East Haven defeated Hamden 34-31 in four overtimes at Crisafi Field on Sept. 18 to move to 2-0 under new Head Coach Melvin Wells. The victory also marked East Haven’s first 2-0 start since 2003 and was the Yellowjackets’ first win against a SCC Division I opponent. Freshman kicker Evan Damian nailed a 27-yard field goal to seal the deal for the Yellowjackets in the fourth overtime.
“At the end of the day, Damian has done a good job all year long. He’s confident and mature beyond his years,” Wells said. “With a tie game with us having on opportunity to score last, it was a no-brainer. We were on the 10-yard-line and he’s kicked field goals much further than that in practice and in games, so it was a fair call. He didn’t let us down.”
Both teams scored 14 points in the first half and then the defenses took over until the overtime periods. East Haven scored first when McClay Marshall ran home a touchdown from 10 yards out and then Austin Thornberg scored on a 28-yard run. Hamden’s Angelo DiMonaco scored on touchdown runs of 13 and 14 yards and the teams went into the overtime period knotted 14-14.
East Haven quarterback Trevor Angelo was injured after he made a tackle following an interception he threw and didn’t return.
“In his attempt to make the tackle, he ran through the guy and the kid’s knee hit his helmet. It jarred him a little bit, but they don’t know if it’s a concussion or not,” Wells said. “It’s not too, too bad. He’s questionable for next week, but if he’s out, it won’t be more than a week.”
Both teams continued to put up points when the game went to overtime. In the first frame, Hamden’s Stanley Arrington and Thornberg traded 10-yard touchdown scores. In the second, DiMonaco hit a 25-yard field goal, but was matched when Damian connected on a boot from 31 yards out. In the third OT, Arrington threw an 8-yard touchdown strike to Mekhi Henderson, but then Thornberg ran home a 7-yard score to force the fourth overtime.
That’s when East Haven’s defense answered by forcing three incomplete passes following an offensive holding on Hamden to shut the door. Rather than sending out the offense, Wells sent out Damian for the field goal and he kicked it through the uprights, giving the Yellowjackets their second win of the year.
Thornberg finished with 131 yards on the ground and the three touchdowns and Marshall had 37 yards and the score. Mike Griffith had an interception on defense as the Yellowjackets made 116 tackles as a team.
Girls’ Soccer
The Easties are off to the best start in program history by starting their season at 3-0 for the first time. The Yellowjackets reached the plateau with huge wins over division rivals North Haven and Branford. Senior forward Megan Kikosicki had a hand in all six goals as East Haven shut out both squads 3-0.
On Sept. 15 against North Haven, Haley Montesanto scored the squad’s first goal, assisted by Kikosicki, and then Kikosicki netted the next two, assisted by Marley Herard and goalie Caitlin Esposito. Esposito made six saves in the win over North Haven to record the shutout. The Easties had seven shots on target.
East Haven defeated Branford the very next day as Kikosicki recorded a hat trick. Montesanto, Chiara Fusco, and Jordan Kikosicki had an assist each and Esposito recorded five saves to shut out the Hornets.
Volleyball
East Haven improved to 3-1 with a pair of victories over Hand and Branford last week. On Sept. 15 against Hand, East Haven won 3-2 in five sets. Hand took the first two sets 27-25, 25-10, but the Yellowjackets stormed back in the final three 25-22, 25-17, 15-9. As a team, East Haven had 32 kills with senior captain Allison Luzzi leading the way with 10 and sophomore Kylie Schlottman had nine. East Haven finished with 11 serving aces as a team and also had 108 digs. Junior Amber Ciscone had a team-high 44 digs as four others—Luzzi, Schlottman, Alyssa Barcomb, and Kara Hanson—all finished in double digits. Barcomb also had 27 assists in the victory.
The Yellowjackets then topped division rival Branford 3-1 on Sept. 18. East Haven won 25-23, 25-19, 19-25, 25-16. Luzzi once again led the team in kills with 13 and Schlottman added another nine. Ciscone had a team-high 26 digs, Barcomb finished with a team-high 27 assists, and Hanson finished with a team-high four aces and added 16 digs.