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10/13/2024 12:19 PMHigh school teams always want to build for the long haul and sustain success for seasons to come, as seniors part ways with the program every spring upon graduation. But another element many experts may neglect to think about is the club cohesion within the current crop of players. For the North Haven boys’ soccer squad, it appears the best is yet to come with a youthful group that has garnered great in-game experience and prominence.
The Nighthawks have enjoyed quite the successful regular season run in 2024, sporting a 9-4-1 record heading into the home stretch. Head Coach John Parisella noted that the boys are looking to earn themselves dual playoff berths in the waning moments of the regular season. They certainly have the intangibles to do so with a camaraderie and respect for one another that can never be broken, much less tested. North Haven is assembling the table for great victories on the horizon not only in the 2024 campaign, but for ones well beyond.
“Our goals for the season are simple; we want to make the state tournament and the SCC Tournament,” said Parisella. “This group's special team chemistry is at an all-time high, and the future is bright for us.”
Leading the Nighthawks into the fray have been Jack Notaro and Kevin Parker. Each young man is in his second season stint as captains. Notaro has amassed 25 total points on 11 goals while handing out 14 assists. Meanwhile, Parker has held a flare for the dramatics and makes his presence known.
“Both are great leaders, fearless competitors, great students of the game, and even better students in the classroom,” said Parisella. “Jack and Kevin have been a part of the varsity team since their freshman year and have been a big part of the team's steady improvement. Jack brings energy, toughness, and production. Kevin is our vocal leader who keeps the team organized on the field, and he scored an important goal to lead a comeback against Lyman Hall.”
A tandem of juniors occupy the midfield for North Haven with Hayden Minns and Aiden Oliveira. Minns is an individual who can really control the flow of play, while Oliveira covers an infinite amount of turf.
“Hayden is really good at controlling the tempo of the game,” said Parisella. “Aiden is a box-to-box midfielder who has contributed on both the offensive and defensive sides.”
In net, senior Joe Morocho has been such a steady presence between the posts. And then backing him on a solid defensive front are senior Russell Collins and junior Josh Stefanik.
Up front at the attacking segment of the field have been additional solid contributors in strikers of senior Joe Solimene, Jr. and junior counterpart Jett Rosekopf.
“Joe has been a bright spot for the defense, as well as Josh and Russel,” said Parisella. “The forwards in Joey and Jett have been major contributors to our offensive attack.”
This season, North Haven is in the Housatonic Division of the SCC with the likes of Notre Dame-West Haven, Wilbur Cross, Branford, and Law. The boys routed Notre Dame 8-0 on Sept. 10 and then the Green Knights prevailed 3-1 in the return contest on Oct. 5. When facing Cross, the two fought tirelessly to a scoreless draw on Sept. 19 before the Governors prevailed 3-0 in the rematch on Oct. 12. The boys blanked Law 3-0 on Sept. 17, prior to another shutout by a 4-0 margin on Oct. 9. Lastly against Branford, the Nighthawks scored a 4-0 shutout over the Hornets on Sept. 25. North Haven will then close out the regular season against Branford on Thursday, Oct. 17 with a 6:30 p.m. game time on the road.
Parisella proclaimed that another X-factor in this team’s success is not only how the depth of the squad across all grades has shined bright, but they have also illuminated a mental prowess. It has proven crucial in crunch times–leading the way to wins that would have otherwise been defeats in prior instances.
“What's exciting about this team is we are still young and still maturing,” said Parisella. “They are showing lots of mental toughness, hanging in, and winning games we previously would have lost.”
The SCC Tournament kicks off with quarterfinal contests on Thursday, Oct. 24 played at the higher seeded teams’ home fields. The semifinals are slated for Saturday, Oct. 26. The championship game will be held on Monday, Oct. 28 at West Haven High School with a 5 p.m. start time.
Parisella is in his fourth campaign as the head coach and was previously the assistant coach at North Haven for that same span of time. His varsity assistant coach this year is RJ Notaro, also at that position for four campaigns. The North Haven JV Coach is Larry Dibernardo, additionally in his fourth season.
The 2024 North Haven roster is comprised of seniors Morocho, Danill Yermakov, Parker, Notaro, Solimene, Jr, Oguzhan Turkan, Jace Matthew, Collins; juniors David Meneses-Carreto, Nick Gaetano, Noah Buck, Charlie Daniele, Oliveira, Eyad Elabd, Minns, Nico Sahirul, Stefanik, Julian Massey, Sam Giering, Luciano Calderon, Rosekopf, Ty Zemba, Aiden Ricci; sophomores Christian Temfack, Mateo Rodriguez, Samnang Mui, Braden Cohen, Hakan Uzun, Sebastian Vasquez, Will Gagne, Christian Cajamarca, Quennell Nesmith, Francesco D’Aria; plus freshmen Owen Daniele, Christian Espinosa, Noah Pileggi, Liam McBride, Jack Oliveira, Peter Aurora, Luca D’Angelo, Yusuf Ziya Saribasak, Shafin Adian, Lucas Muralles, and Tahsin Uddin.
2024 North Haven Boys’ Soccer Regular Season Results and Schedule
Sept. 3: North Haven 5, Lyman Hall 1
Sept. 10: Notre Dame-West Haven 8, North Haven 0
Sept. 12: North Haven 2, East Haven 0
Sept. 14: North Haven 4, St. Paul Catholic 3
Sept. 17: North Haven 3, Law 0
Sept. 19: North Haven 0, Cross 0
Sept. 23: Coginchaug 3, North Haven 2
Sept. 25: North Haven 4, Branford 0
Sept. 27: North Haven 5, Lyman Hall 3
Oct. 1: North Haven 6, Career-Hillhouse 2
Oct. 5: Notre Dame-West Haven 3, North Haven 1
Oct. 7: North Haven 3, East Haven 0
Oct. 9: North Haven 4, Law 0
Oct. 12: Cross 3, North Haven 0
Monday, Oct. 14: vs. Career-Hillhouse at 6 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 17: at Branford at 6:30 p.m.