Girls’ Soccer Squad Blanks Foran and Derby

    There was a huge emphasis for the North Haven girls’ soccer team to reach the state tournament this fall after missing it for the first time in years last season. As the Indians near the halfway point of their campaign, Michael DeBaise’s squad has put itself in good position to do just that.

    North Haven earned a pair of shutouts last week, winning at Foran 2-0 followed by a 5-0 home victory against Derby to raise the Indians’ record to 4-3-1, two wins shy of the six needed to make states. Furthermore, the Derby triumph improved the Indians’ division record to 2-1-1 with one game remaining against each of their four Southern Connecticut Conference Oronoque foes.

    Consequently, North Haven, which had won the Oronoque three straight years before last season, has a chance to not only reclaim that crown, but to also once again find itself competing in states.

    “We’ve been progressing from game to game and we should have no problem getting back to states if we continue to play as we have been,” DeBaise said. “We still have one game left against everybody in the division so we have a real shot at that too. This is a team with very good senior leadership and that doesn’t just include the captains, but all 12 of them. Our entire team came into the season in great shape and everyone has been working hard.”

    North Haven’s senior captains are Chelsea Shaw and Jaimie Bosco and the latter spoke about the importance of achieving the goals that DeBaise discussed.

    “We all want to do better than last year and we’ve been talking about making states and doing well in the division,” Bosco said. “So far, the season has been going well and we’re just going to keep pushing the girls so we’ll come out ready to play hard every game.”

    The Indians’ definitely came out ready to play hard versus Derby as they scored three goals in the game’s first seven minutes.

    Sophomore Chelsea Shaw notched the game’s first goal when her shot deflected off the hands of the Red Raiders’ goalkeeper and into the net just 1:14 into the contest. Freshman Samantha Cristante assisted on the score.

    Then just 45 seconds later, sophomore Jessica Broadbent scored off a corner kick on an assist from senior Rebecca Tabak to give North Haven a 2-0 advantage. Broadbent then tallied her second goal 6:30 into the game by blasting one into the top corner to the keeper’s right to make it 3-0.

    DeBaise then removed many of his starters to ensure that every senior saw their share of playing time and that lineup also experienced success as Sarah McGovern recorded two goals, the first on an assist from freshman Heather Piscatelli and the second from fellow freshman Shabnam Elahi for a 5-0 Indians’ lead at halftime. North Haven’s junior varsity squad then played the second half.

    “A lot of our younger players saw some time and they kept up the standards,” Chelsea Shaw said. “They worked hard and didn’t allow any goals.”

Game at a Glance

Sept. 30: North Haven 2, Foran 0

Key Performances

• Caitlyn Shaw: goal

• Jaclyn Ranciato: assist

• Amanda Rizzo: assist

• Maria Sanzari: 9 saves

Game at a Glance

Oct. 2: North Haven 5, Derby 0

Key Performances

• Jessica Broadbent: 2 goals

• Sarah McGovern: 2 goals

• Caitlyn Shaw: goal

• Samantha Cristante: assist

• Rebecca Tabak: assist

• Heather Piscatelli: assist

• Shabnam Elahi: assist

Pictured: Rebecca Tabak is a senior for the North Haven girls’ soccer team, which blanked both Foran and Derby last week.

Photo by Jimmy D’Addio