Field Hockey

The North Haven field hockey team earned its first victory of the season and also took a loss in last week’s action. North Haven dropped a contest to Amity and then defeated Lyman Hall to move to 1-1-1-1 on the year.

On Sept. 14, North Haven played a road game against Amity and lost a 4-0 decision to the Spartans. Then on Sept. 18, Head Coach Kim Bouffard’s team hosted Lyman Hall and prevailed by a 2-0 score at North Haven Middle School.

Sophomore Catherine Bianchi scored on an assist from senior Noelle Carmody to put North Haven up 1-0 in the first quarter when the team faced Lyman Hall. Then in the second quarter, Bianchi netted her second goal of the game with an assist from senior Emma Kircaldie to give North Haven a 2-0 advantage. North Haven’s defense kept Lyman Hall off the board the rest of the way as the club went on to get the shutout.

Girls’ Swimming and Diving

The North Haven girls’ swimming diving team began a new era with first-year Head Coach Matt Pohlman last week. North Haven had two meets and came away with a split for a 1-1 start to the 2021 season.

On Sept. 14, North Haven hosted the East Haven-Cross-Hillhouse co-op squad for its season opener at Walter Gawrych Community Pool. North Haven won the matchup by the final score of 101-71 to give Pohlman a victory in his debut as North Haven’s coach.

Senior captain Taya Laborde took first place in the 50 freestyle for North Haven by swimming a time of 27.58. North Haven also received victories from junior Mikayla Rapuano in the 100 freestyle (58.58) and senior captain Giulia Faulkner in the 100 breaststroke (1:18.11). Freshman Olivia Halovatch claimed first place in the diving competition by scoring 154.55 points.

North Haven’s 200 medley relay of Laborde, junior Alice Scalmani, senior Abrielle Osborne, and Faulkner finished first with a time of 2:04.33. The 200 freestyle relay of Faulkner, Laborde, Scalmani, and Rapuano recorded a time of 1:51.54 to take first place.

Two days later, North Haven had a road meet versus Lyman Hall that was held at Sheehan High School. North Haven took a 99-85 defeat to Lyman Hall.

Scalmani finished first in the 200 individual medley (2:20.09), and Rapuano won the 100 butterfly (1:02.10). The 400 freestyle relay of Laborde, Faulkner, junior Victoria Pachnik, and Rapuano also finished in first place (4:31.10).

Pohlman is taking over as North Haven’s head coach following the retirement of longtime coach Martha Phelan, who had two lengthy stints at the helm of the program. Phelan led North Haven to several winning seasons during her two tenures, including a Class M state championship in 2019.

Football

The North Haven football team hit the gridiron to play Cheshire for its first home game of the 2021 season on Sept. 17. North Haven took a 28-0 loss against the Rams at Vanacore Field to move to 0-2 on the year.

Following a scoreless first quarter, Cheshire scored on a 50-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter to grab a 7-0 lead. In the third quarter, the Rams broke off a long 63-yard touchdown run to make it 14-0 heading into the fourth. Cheshire then scored on a 3-yard TD run and a 46-yard touchdown pass in the final frame to finish off the 28-0 victory.

North Haven’s next contest is a road game versus non-conference opponent Wilton on Friday, Sept. 24. The game kicks off at 7 p.m. at Wilton High School.

Boys’ Soccer

The North Haven boys’ soccer team played its first games with new Head Coach John Parisella last week. North Haven took a defeat versus Amity and then lost to Guilford to start the year.

North Haven began its season with a road game against Amity and lost to the Spartans by a 3-0 score on Sept. 14. Four days after that, Coach Parisella’s squad faced Guilford for its home opener and took a 3-1 defeat at North Haven Middle School. Senior Zion Teclechiel scored North Haven’s goal on a penalty kick.

Parisella is taking over for Reid Chieffo as North Haven’s head coach. Last year, North Haven posted a mark of 4-5-1 and lost to Cheshire by a 5-2 score in the semifinals of the SCC Division A Tournament.

Girls’ Soccer

The North Haven girls’ soccer squad took the field to play a pair of games last week. North Haven lost a contest against Foran and then took a loss to Cheshire to put its record at 1-2 this fall.

In its first game of the week, North Haven hosted Foran and took a 3-1 defeat to the Lions at North Haven Middle School. Following a scoreless first half, Foran netted three of the four goals during the second half to come away with the win. Senior Ada Forbes scored North Haven’s lone goal of the game.

Three days later, North Haven was on the road to face Cheshire and dropped a 3-0 decision versus the Rams.

Girls’ Cross Country

The North Haven girls’ cross country squad faced three teams in its season-opening meet at Mercy High School last week. North Haven recorded a team score of 90 points and took defeats against Cheshire (27), Guilford (29), and Mercy (80) on Sept. 15.

Freshman Daniella Rapuano led the North Haven pack by completing the three-mile course with a time of 24:33 to finish in 12th place for the race. Junior Payton Orosco ran a time of 24:50 to take 15th place, and freshman Amalia Morizio finished in 17th with a mark of 25:33. Senior Riley Minns finished in 20th place (26:27), while junior Elisabetta Sposito came in 34th place (30:55) to account for North Haven’s scoring.

Boys’ Cross Country

The North Haven boys’ cross country team started its season by competing against three teams in a quad-meet at Mercy High School on Sept. 15. North Haven posted a team score of 104 and took losses to Xavier (15), Cheshire (55), and Guilford (71) at the meet.

Junior Tyler Wrum ran a time of 19:23 to finish in 21st place for North Haven in the three-mile race. Sophomore Nico Boyle took 23rd place (19:41), while senior Luke Nugent finished in 24th place (19:51) on behalf of Head Coach Carl Jackson’s squad. Senior Michael Rubano finished in 42nd (21:12), and fellow senior Daniyal Saleem came in 58th place (22:47) to round out the scoring for North Haven.