The North Haven boys’ soccer team only featured four seniors on the varsity roster this fall and, even though the Indians didn’t reach the postseason, Head Coach Federico Fiondella was pleased with how his senior captain quartet guided the young squad. At the Indians’ recent postseason dinner, Fiondella showed how much he appreciates his four leaders as each one of them was presented with a distinction from the team. North Haven’s captains were midfielder/defender Thomas Bogen, forward/midfielder JJ Jensen, forward/midfielder/defender Ian Dunning, and goalie Trevor MacDonnell.

“I was proud of the team, especially when times got tough in the last few games, when we weren’t going to qualify for the postseason. A team can come out a certain way that’s negative or not enthusiastic and the team never did that. We never folded. We kept fighting and were basically in every one of those games against high-caliber opponents,” said Coach Fiondella, whose club went 4-11-1 overall with a mark of 4-3-1 in the Oronoque Division. “I especially want to credit our four senior captains. They all bring something different to the table and, because of them, the team flourished when we couldn’t qualify for states or win the division. The four seniors led by example, administered what I asked of them tactically, and the team followed. I give them credit. If they had a bad attitude, it could have been ugly at the end of the year, but they did everything they possibly could to help us have success.”

All four captains received the Indians’ Outstanding Leadership Award and sealed spots on the All-Oronoque squad with Bogen and Dunning playing their way to First Team honors. The duo also shared North Haven’s Stuart Elliot Most Valuable Player Award. Dunning, who scored 12 goals and added two assists, was additionally named All-State by the Connecticut Soccer Coaches Association. Bogen, who handed out five assists, was chosen as the team’s Joe Janush Outstanding Sportsman and earned the Boys’ Soccer Alumni Award.

“Ian and Tommy are different types of soccer players and we needed both. Tommy is the vocal leader—a guy who pushed the team to give their utmost at all times and you heard Tommy all the time. When we got scored on, he motivated the team to pick their head up and go forward again. We moved Tom from central midfielder to central defender and he did a great job of commanding the team in front of him,” Fiondella said. “Ian was a fantastic central defender, but we needed someone to score goals, and he showed us he could. Ian’s a little more quiet on the field, but tactically, he’s gifted and understands the game and was a huge help.”

Meanwhile, Jensen and MacDonnell both gained Honorable Mention accolades from the Oronoque. Jensen, who tallied three goals, also came away with the Guido Fiondella Merit Award that’s named in honor of Coach Fiondella’s late father. MacDonnell, who earned the starting goalie job after enduring injury issues the last two years, was the winner of the Jim and Brenda Howlett Scholar Athlete Award.

“JJ was the motor of the team. You put the battery in and he goes and gives you every ounce of energy. JJ never stops and, when people see that, it’s inspirational,” said Fiondella, whose squad was also named the SCC Oronoque Sportsmanship Team of the Year. “Trevor came in as a freshman and we were thrilled because he’s such a great keeper, but had back-to-back seasons where he was injured. He ended up being in 13 of our 16 games this year and that’s what we wanted—for him to have a full year under his belt. Trevor was vocal from the back and improved every aspect of his game, which is hard when you miss so much time. I give him credit for coming back and never looking back.”

While North Haven’s captains certainly collected the lion’s share of postseason honors, a few of the program’s other players also came away with some hardware. One of those athletes was junior midfielder Matt Iovanne, who netted three goals with an assist and was selected as the Most Improved Player. Iovanne will captain the team next year with Steven Pugliese, a fellow junior who played defense.

“This was Matt’s first full varsity year and he had a few solid practices in a row, so we thought he deserved a start and he scored two minutes in against Career. Matt is a versatile player. We’re happy with how much he improved from last year and the team also noticed how much he improved from the beginning of this year to the end of the year,” Fiondella said. “Steven made varsity as a freshman and had a standout sophomore year. This year, we were looking for Steven to step up as a junior and he adjusted well. When someone comes in as a varsity player, it’s almost expected that they could be a captain and the players felt it was right for Steven to be one of our leaders. He and Matt will do great.”

Coach Fiondella also gave out a Rookie of the Year Award, which went to freshman Ben Blumenthal, who patrolled all corners of the field and wound up scoring a goal with five assists. Blumenthal also made the SCC’s All-Academic Team alongside a trio of sophomores in midfielders Max Paolillo and Ethan Pavano (1 goal, 5 assists), plus goalie Riley Powell.

“We were impressed with Ben. He’s our fitness champ on the team. We do agility and fitness tests at the beginning of the year and always award the best times for freshmen and he won them both,” said Fiondella. “We used Ben at every position aside from goalie and he was comfortable wherever we threw him and that says a lot about him.”

North Haven’s Goal of the Year was scored by sophomore midfielder/defender Mohammed Shreiteh and it came in a 2-1 loss at Hand with sophomore Brian Daley getting the assist.

The rest of North Haven’s varsity roster included juniors in midfielder Sean Flannery (1 goal, 1 assist), forward Omar Gebril, and midfielder Jonathan Goodrich, a Varsity in Training (V.I.T.) player; along with sophomores of defender Matthew DellaValle and V.I.T. Christian Muralles, a midfielder who was also the junior varsity MVP; plus the freshman corps of defenders Jacob Sconiecknzy, Chris Damone, and Justin Shea (1 goal), forward Mikail Panferov (2 goals, 1 assist), and V.I.T. midfielder Quinn Dallai.

Fiondella was joined on his coaching staff by RJ Notaro (assistant to the varsity coach), Johnny Johnson (junior varsity coach), Pete Solomon (goalkeeper coach/assistant to the varsity coach), and RT Iadarola (assistant to the varsity coach). Nick Mongillo and Larry DiBernardo coached the boys’ soccer squad at North Haven Middle School.

The Indians’ team manager and student assistants were seniors Kaitlyn Pugliese and Alec Lynch, sophomore Alejandro Holle, and freshman Alexis Caruso. Coach Fiondella gave special thanks to Pugliese and Lynch for volunteering with the team all four years.

From the Sidelines

North Haven’s four victories this season came against Career-Hillhouse (5-3 and 4-2) and East Haven (3-0 and 6-0) and the team also earned a 2-2 tie against another division foe in Branford.

Head Coach Federico Fiondella also credited his team for playing solid games in a 1-0 loss to Class L quarterfinalist Lyman Hall, as well as in a pair of defeats against Class L semifinal squad Hand, which were 2-1 and 1-0 finals.

The Indians scored 30 goals in their 16 games this year.