The North Haven Nighthawks girls’ soccer season came to an end after falling to the Branford Hornets on Nov. 8 in the first round of the Class L state tournament by a score of 6-0. Although the season didn’t end how the Nighthawks had hoped, senior captain and right defender Ilana Blumenthal still proved to be a true leader for the team this season.

Ilana has been playing soccer since she was able to walk, thanks to her dad.

“My dad has always been my inspiration to play soccer. Additionally, my mom grew up playing soccer as well as my brother,” says Ilana. “I stuck with soccer throughout high school because of my teammates and found my best friends for life through this sport.”

The Nighthawks are coached by Gary Collins, who was awarded the Southern Connecticut Conference (SCC) Coach of the Year this season. They had a small team this year, totaling 17 players and three captains: Ilana, Giavanna Damone, and Aisling Pretty.

Collins has been coaching the girls’ soccer team since Ilana was a freshman and saw her grow throughout the years.

“She is able to work with the team, creating that bond for us to work well as a team,” says Collins. “I think the girls looked up to her in a lot of ways as a role model.”

Ilana quite literally has been playing soccer for as long as she can remember.

“I have been playing soccer my whole life. My dad was the coach of the North Haven Youth Clinic for many years. So, I started soccer as soon as I was able to walk,” says Ilana.

That passion for the sport only continued to grow over the years for Ilana, as she also commits to improving other areas of her athleticism. In addition to playing soccer, Ilana puts in a lot of work in the weight room, as well as helps her teammates to prepare during the preseason.

“Throughout the offseason I dedicate a lot of my time to the gym and becoming stronger, as well as always staying active when not on the field,” says Ilana.

The Nighthawks prepare for their season in the middle of July to August, with a fitness and conditioning program to get in shape for what is in store for them in the months to come.

“The captains communicate to the players what the coaches want for our team to accomplish three days a week,” says Collins. “We do an hour and a half of running, conditioning, and agility exercises. Ilana does a weight program to maintain her strength. We do that for about six weeks which helps keep our players stay fit throughout the season.”

Ilana started her last high school season as a central defender until Collins made the decision to have her switch to right defender.

“She was able to help the defense as well as the offensive part of the game too,” says Collins. “She helped get the ball forward and maintained a kind of attack coming from the outside, which is one of her strengths and I think that worked out well for us.”

The Nighthawks compete in the SCC Quinnipiac girls’ soccer conference, where they play against teams like Mercy, Foran, and Jonathan Law.

Although the team was small compared to the competing private schools that surround North Haven, Ilana still enjoyed her last season with the Nighthawks, one that resulted in an overall record of 7-10, and talks about her favorite moment.

“If I had to pick one moment to highlight it would have to be our second game against West Haven. Initially, we lost to them but the second time around it was a different story,” says Ilana. “As a team, we worked extremely hard to pull off a win. In the end, we worked together and accomplished our goals; we beat them.”

Ilana and the Nighthawks were able to overcome the West Haven Blue Devils on Oct. 7 by a score of 2-1.

Switching positions in soccer isn’t always an easy process, but Ilana was able to do it seamlessly and make a difference to her team in the process. Ilana talks about the positive impact she made on the team by making her switch from center defender to outside right defender.

“I believe the formation change was very beneficial. As a result, we began to advance up the field at a new speed and we had more opportunities on offense,” says Ilana. “With the change, our defense became a wall as well as having that strong asset.”

Ilana feels that her last season as a Nighthawk was one to remember, and she was able to lead her small team to push past bigger ones.

“I believe being on a small team made us even closer than we already were. Although some may see a small team as a disadvantage, we used our size to our advantage,” says Ilana. “We all had a close bond, so we worked for each other even more so. We improved on our skills by motivating one another.”