The East Haven boys’ soccer team is changing its formation and overall game plan as the Yellowjackets enter the second half of the 2021 season. Head Coach Mike Papantonio said that the Easties must adapt to the changes and continue playing resilient soccer every match in order to finish out the season strong.

“We’re battling. We’re working really hard. We’re late enough into the year where we have ironed out a lineup of starters. We’ve switched to a new tactic, a new formation, and a new game plan,” said Papantonio. “It’s now all about getting more continuity. We’ve had some positive results over the last two games, only giving up one goal. There’s a little bit of progress.”

East Haven played two games last week by hosting North Haven and Career-Hillhouse. The Yellowjackets earned a 1-1 tie with North Haven on Sept. 28 and then played Career-Hillhouse to a 0-0 draw on Oct. 2. Junior captain Christofher Torres scored the team’s lone goal in the game against North Haven. East Haven has a record of 1-5-2 on the year following last week’s contests.

Senior captain Victor Rolon has been in goal for East Haven this season. After playing central defender his first three years in the program, Rolon moved to the goalkeeper’s position this year. Rolon made four saves in the North Haven game and had five saves versus Career-Hillhouse. Coach Papantonio has been impressed with Rolon’s progression during the senior’s first year in the net.

“The kid had never played it before, and he just recognized that you can’t play a season without a goalie. He has stepped up. He took the leadership role,” Papantonio said. “Victor has grown every game and gained a bit more confidence. He has snuffed out a number of breakaways. He is getting loud and knows where other kids need to be on the field. He is fearless, which is what we needed in there.”

In front of Rolon defensively are three seniors in Ethar Al-Hawari, Anthony Sawicki, and Kevin Phan. Coach Papantonio decided to change the Easties’ formation, meaning that those three players, along with Rolon, are the only ones back on defense. In doing so, Papantonio moved sophomore Dom Rivera up to the midfield for an added boost on offense.

“We went to only three on the back. We’re trying to overload the middle with three central midfielders. We moved Dom Rivera from defense to the wing. He has provided a significant push on the offensive side of the ball,” said Papantonio. “We went from having an underclassmen heavy defensive unit to four seniors. If we want to be competitive, we had to move somebody up.”

Offensively, the Yellowjackets are relying on Torres to fill a crucial role. Torres plays both forward and midfield for East Haven and is often on the pitch for the entire 80 minutes, helping advance the ball forward.

“He is the best player on the field whenever we take the field. He could play for any other program in the conference,” Papantonio said of Torres. “He is a special player. He is the biggest, the fastest, and the strongest. We ask him to do too much, but that’s how good he is. Wherever the ball is, that’s where you’ll find him.”

As the Yellowjackets enter the heart of the season, Coach Papantonio said that they will be relying on their upperclassmen to lead the team both on and off the field. After dealing with some injuries during the first half of the year, East Haven has seen numerous underclassmen get ample varsity playing time. Going forward, Papantonio is looking for those underclassmen to take the next step and continue developing their soccer skills.

“We got hit really badly by the injury bug. Our bench is entirely freshmen and first-year sophomores. They have all played significant varsity minutes,” said Papantonoio. “It’s not like you’re throwing these kids to the wolves. You can’t teach experience, and these kids have it. The things we have been working on in practice, we’re going to see if we can put them into effect in the second half of the year.

East Haven has games against Branford, North Branford, and Notre Dame-West Haven on this week’s schedule. The Yellowjackets will then go eight days without a game before facing Cheshire on Saturday, Oct. 16. Coach Papantonio knows that it’s going to be a challenging stretch for the Easties, but he believes that they are ready to compete and prove just how good they can be.

“We just have to maintain our effort. North Haven scored first. We were down 1-0 at the half. They weren’t satisfied. They knew they should be in the game. It just took some perseverance,” Papantonio said. “They saw some of the success we had last year, and it’s contagious. These kids want it. You taste that success. You want some more of it. The kids are hungry. The pressure’s on, and we want it.”

The East Haven boys’ soccer team’s roster features senior captain Victor Rolon; seniors Kevin Phan, Anthony Sawicki, Merab Nabi, Brayan Crespo, and Ethar Al-Hawari; junior captain Christofher Torres and junior Jonathan Culcay; sophomores Dom Rivera, Marvin Cardenas, Freddy Lucero, Vera Gregory, Miguel Orellana, and William Vicuna; and freshmen Frank Cabrera, Gustavo Flores-Soto, Matteo Martinez, Logan Mendez, Matteo Romero, and Nicholas Sanchez.