Girls’ Swimming and Diving

Senior Ava Santacroce took first place at the Southern Connecticut Conference Diving Championship when she competed in the meet on behalf of the North Haven girls’ swimming and diving team last week. Santacroce won the conference crown by posting a score of 401.70 points for her 11-dive performance at Sheehan High School on Nov. 1. She is the first athlete in program history to finish first at the SCC diving meet.

Santacroce’s total put her well ahead of runner-up Alyssa Cervero of Lyman Hall, who came in second place with 342.75 points at the SCC Diving Championship. By virtue of her victory, Santacroce made the All-SCC Team for the second year in a row after having finished second at last year’s meet with a score of 391.90.

Senior captain Christina Stoeffler finished in 12th place (264.05 points) and junior Chandler Ceste- Martinez came in 13th place (262.05) for North Haven at the SCC Diving Championship. All three of the Indians’ divers scored points for North Haven that will carry into this week’s SCC Swimming Championship.

After SCCs, the Indians will compete in the Class M State Championship beginning with the Diving Championship at Bulkeley High School on Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 4:30 p.m. The Swimming Qualifying is at East Hartford High School at 5:55 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 16, and the Class M Swimming Championship will be held at Southern Connecticut State University on Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 6 p.m.

Girls’ Soccer

North Haven qualified for the Class L State Tournament by earning a win and a tie during the last week of the regular season, solidifying its berth with a 4-1 road victory against Bethel in its finale. The Indians made states through a second-half surge that saw the team rebound from a 1-7 start to go 4-1-3 down the stretch and finish the regular season at 5-8-3 overall.

North Haven started off its week by picking up a pivotal point in the standings via a 0-0 tie versus Sheehan on Senior Night at North Haven Middle School. Sheehan had a great scoring opportunity during the first half, but sophomore goalie Sophia Chagnon got a fingertip on the ball to push it aside. In the second half, the Titans’ keeper made a key save to stop a shot by senior Julia Raposo and keep the game scoreless. Chagnon had five saves in net for the Indians, who took 12 shots on goal in the game.

Two days later, North Haven punched its state tourney ticket by claiming a 4-1 road win against Bethel in a non-conference matchup. The Indians put the pressure on Bethel right away, scoring the game’s first goal when sophomore Ada Forbes dribbled past the Wildcats’ goalie and put the ball in an open net for a 1-0 lead. Forbes made it 2-0 when she blasted one past the keeper on an assist from junior Erika Holle. Later in the half, Raposo netted a goal on an assist from Forbes to give North Haven a 3-0 lead at the break.

In the second half, junior Julia Bogen played a corner kick to Holle, who hit a powerful shot into the upper corner of the net for a 4-0 North Haven advantage. Bethel scored the last goal of the game to make it 4-1. The Indians took 19 shots on goal in the victory. Chagnon made two saves for North Haven.

North Haven opens the Class L State Tournament by playing a first-round game on Tuesday, Nov. 12. With a win, the Indians would play in the second round on Thursday, Nov. 14. The quarterfinals are on Saturday, Nov. 16; the semifinals take place on either Tuesday, Nov. 19 or Wednesday, Nov. 20; and the Class L state final will be held on Saturday, Nov. 23.

Boys’ Soccer

The Indians lost their last two games of the regular season to finish with a record of 3-9-4.

On Oct. 28, the Indians dropped a 4-2 decision to Sheehan at North Haven Middle School. Two days later, North Haven took a 7-1 loss at Amity in its regular-season finale.

Volleyball

North Haven won its last two matches of the regular season and then competed in the SCC Tournament last week. The Indians took a 3-2 loss against Law in the first round of SCCs and now get ready to play in the Class L State Tournament this week. North Haven has an overall record of 10-10.

On Oct. 28, North Haven hosted Wilbur Cross and earned a 3-0 (25-15, 25-15, 25-23) victory versus the Governors. Senior Eryn Sheeley had nine aces to go with five kills and three digs for the Indians. Senior Aubrey Reyes contributed six kills, while fellow senior Melissa Seidemann had six kills with one block.

Two nights later, the Indians shut out Lauralton Hall 3-0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-13) in their Senior Night match to finish the regular season at 10-9. Sheeley had another good match by collecting six digs, four kills, and one ace for North Haven. Senior Julia Lockery posted eight kills with three digs, and fellow senior Jordan Wentworth had four digs with three aces and one kill in the winning effort.

Then on Oct. 2, North Haven entered the SCC Tournament as the No. 13 seed and dropped a 3-2 decision at No. 4 seed Law in a first-round match. The Indians won the first two sets of the match, but Law rallied to take the victory by the final score of 23-25, 26-24, 22-25, 25-10, 15-6. Junior Lily Pollard handed out 32 assists to go with three kills and one ace on the night. Junior Alex Ferriouolo had 17 digs and three aces, while Lockery recorded nine kills with six digs for North Haven.

North Haven opens play in the Class L State Tournament with a first-round contest on Monday, Nov. 11. With a win, the Indians would advance to play in the second round on Thursday, Nov. 14. The quarterfinals are on Saturday, Nov. 16; the semifinals take place on Wednesday, Nov. 20; and the Class L state final will be held at East Haven High School on Saturday, Nov. 23 at 10 a.m

Football

The Indians hosted Shelton for an SCC Tier 1 matchup and took a 41-12 defeat against the Gaels at Vanacore Field on Nov. 1. North Haven moved to 3-4 overall with the loss and is now 0-3 in its SCC Tier 1 games.

North Haven only trailed Shelton 7-6 after the first quarter. However, the Gaels scored four touchdowns during the second quarter to take a 34-6 lead into halftime on their way to the win.

Shelton (5-2, 3-0) used a 5-yard touchdown run to take a quick lead. With the Indians down 7-0, senior Jaden Watson rushed for a 73-yard touchdown to make it 7-6 after the opening period.

Shelton took a 14-7 lead on an 8-yard TD in the second quarter. The Gaels struck on a 21-yard touchdown pass to go up 21-7, used a 12-yard touchdown run to make it 28-7, and then added a 1-yard scoring rush for a 34-6 halftime advantage.

Shelton scored its last touchdown on a 40-yard run in the third quarter to increase its lead to 41-7.

North Haven recorded the final points of the night when senior Albert Hooks scored on a 2-yard TD run to make it 41-12 in the fourth.

North Haven’s next contest is a home game versus SCC Tier 2 opponent Sheehan at Vanacore Field at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 8. Sheehan is undefeated with a record of 6-0 coming into the game.