By Jennifer Small, Courier Sports
Editor:
With summer winding
down and the kids back in school—and back on the playing field—we bring back
our coverage of high school sports from East Haven High School. We begin with
our season previews, which gives insight into the upcoming seasons of the
hard-working teams and what to expect.
Boy’ Soccer
Under first-year
coach Javi Rodriguez, the Yellowjackets will be led by senior captains Vito
Landolfi, Vin Gagliardi, and Adam Penrod.
“East
Haven boys’ soccer is led by some of the best captains that I have
worked with in my few years of coaching,” said Rodriguez. “Vito, with his
lightning speed, is going to cause a lot of trouble for opposing defenders.
Vin's smoothness with controlling the ball will be a key factor for our team in
the midfield. Adam is the enforcer and I can count on him to let the other team
know we want to win.”
With experience
returning, the Yellowjackets aim to earn a berth in the state tournament for
the second year in a row.
“We hope to solidify
East Haven soccer as a team not to be reckoned
with,” said Rodriguez, whose team opens the season with a home match against
Amity on Tuesday, Sept. 9 at 6:30 p.m.
Cross-Country
The boys’ and girls’
cross-country teams look to keep running in the direction of success this
season.
“We run the
cross-country teams in unison,” said Anthony Russell, the boys’ coach. “Both
teams’ goals are to consistently bring times down and finish in the middle to
top tier in our division and the middle of the pack in the SCC.”
The boys’ team will
be led by senior captain Vinny DiNicola, a four-year runner who kept the team
running throughout the summer.
“He leads our team
by being on top of people to make sure they’re working hard,” said Russell. “He
takes a more motivational approach.”
Other returnees
expected to contribute are seniors Cody Bias and Frank Funaro; juniors Stephon
Carmona, Albert DeCaprio, Ryan Jones, Elliot Schneer, and Nathan Durazzo; and
sophomores Matt Bradley, Andrew Schneer, and Jim Wayne.
“Our main goal is to
continue getting better times throughout year in practice and meets,” said
Russell. “If you’re not making times in practice, it won’t transfer to meets.”
The girls’ team will
work on the same goals under first-year coach Sue D’Amico. Seniors Michaela
Piersanti and Jennifer Yoo bring experience and will captain the squad.
“They bring
organization and motivate of the other kids,” said Russell. “They complement
each other as Michaela is outspoken and Jennifer is the quiet type.”
Senior Elizabeth
Heng, junior Tina Tran, and sophomores Cindy Tobon, Rachael Puccino, Alyssa
Merola, Taylor Konareski, and Megan Butler all return with experience to aid
the Yellowjackets.
“We’ve got a good
group of kids and they’re working hard and very self-motivated,” D’Amico.
“Overall, it’s been great.”
While both teams
have decent numbers to provide depth, they look to add freshmen as the school
year starts. The Yellowjackets open their season on Tuesday, Sept. 16 at 3:45
p.m. against Cheshire in the lone home meet of the season.
Football
Coming off an 0-10
season, the East Haven football team is looking to notch its first win.
“I have no
predictions until we win a game,” said Coach Mike Marone. “Our first goal is to
win a game. I feel we’ll be better this year, but I don’t want any false
expectations until we win one game and then I’ll tell you what I think we can
do.”
Steve Kapinos leads
the team as its lone senior captain. He is a returning starter, playing
fullback and outside linbacker.
“He’s an all-around
versatile player who can play any position we need him to,” said Marone. “He’s
also ranked fourth in the class—he’s a very special kid.”
The rest of East
Haven’s strength will be in seniors Jesse Lucatino, the team’s quarterback,
John Celotto, who is a returning running back and starting corner, and Rob
Greenspun, a right guard and inside linebacker who will run the Yellowjackets’
defense. He is also the team’s only returning All-League player.
East Haven will be
looking for its first win when it opens the season on Friday, Sept. 12 in a
home game against East Lyme.
Our season previews
will continue in the Sept. 11 issue of the Courier.
Pictured: John Celotto returns to the Yellowjackets as a starting corner back and running
back.
Photo by Tony Spinelli
Junior
Tina Tran returns to the girls’ cross-country team with experience this season.
Photo by Cathi Bosco