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Farquharson leads Westies past North Haven
Junior scores five times and adds assist in season opener
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(April 7, 2011) - The West Haven girls lacrosse team wanted to get off to a quick start to the season. McKenzie Farquharson made sure of that.
The junior started the season quickly, scoring five goals and adding an assist as the Westies opened the season with a 13-7 road victory over North Haven Thursday.
Farquharson wasted no time making an impact as she scored four times in the first half to help West Haven take a 6-4 lead. Farquharson, coming off a stellar basketball season, gave West Haven an early 1-0 lead.
After Shauna Kelly scored off an assist from Erica Toledo for a 2-0 advantage, Farquharson added two more goals for a 4-0 lead. 
The Indians fought back and cut the deficit to 4-3 before the Westies struck again. Amanda Houley scored off an assist from Carly Brereton for a 5-3 lead and Farquharson’s fourth goal of the half, off an assist from Houley, sent the Westies to the break up a pair of goals.
The Westies made sure the opener would go their way as they scored the first three goals of the second half. Goals by Kaitlin Coyle, from Farquharson, Kelly and Ava Gambardella gave the Westies a 9-4 advantage.
The Indians got within a pair of goals at 9-6 but would get no closer. Houley set up Farquharson’s fifth goal of the game for a 10-6 lead and sophomores Samantha Young and Candice Kross increased the lead to six goals. Kross would score the final goal of the game for West Haven as the team started the season in impressive fashion.
Kelly and Kross each finished the game with two goals and an assist, while Houley added a goal and two assists. Sophomore goalie Samantha Palmieri made 10 saves as the Westies held a 22-20 shot advantage.

Bunnell hangs on to defeat Westies
Kelly and Farquharson continue to score despite loss
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(April 8, 2011) - Despite opening the season with a split of its first two games, the West Haven girls lacrosse team has shown it has the ability to put the ball in the net. After scoring 13 goals in an opening day victory overNorth Haven, the Westies scored seven more against Bunnell on Friday.
Unfortunately for the Westies, Bunnell had an answer and handed West Haven its first defeat of the year by a score of 9-7.
McKenzie Farquharson and Shauna Kelly continued to produce on offense as each again found the back of the net. Farquharson scored twice and added an assist as she comes off an opener in which she scored five times and added an assist.
Just two games into the season, the junior leads the team with seven goals and two assists. Kelly has also played well with four goals and an assist through two games as she scored twice against the Bulldogs.
The Westies looked as if they had a good shot to start the season with two straight wins when Kelly and Farquharson scored 27 seconds apart in the first half. Bunnell’s Shannen O’Leary cut into the momentum with 16:40 remaining in the first half before Amanda Houley set up sophomore Samantha Young for West Haven’s third goal of the half.
Bunnell’s Lauren Wells scored with 10:04 remaining and Samantha Grom scored with 6:04 to go in the half as Bunnell was equal to the challenge. The teams went to the half knotted at three.
Houley and Kelly were at it again in the second half as the two score 1:20 apart for a 5-3 lead. That lead was short-lived as Bunnell scored three times in a span of 8:23 to take a 6-5 lead.
Carley Altemose got Bunnell’s first goal and was followed by Anne Guglielmoni’s goal 3:28 later. Guglielmoni then set up Wells for a 6-5 lead with 11:56 remaining in the contest.
Houley, who finished the game with two goals and an assist, knotted the contest at six 41 seconds later. O’Leary’s goal 37 seconds later had Bunnell in front 7-6, but Farquharson evened the contest again 52 seconds later.
Bunnell sealed the game in the final 3:07, scoring twice just 1:07 apart. Katherine Halchak gave Bunnell the lead at 8-7 and Wells clinched the contest with two minutes remaining.
Samantha Palmieri made eight saves in the loss for the Westies as West Haven fell to 1-1.

Westies fall to Morgan
Morgan’s Testoni scores six times
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(April 14, 2011) – While the West Haven girls lacrosse team has been able to put up its share of goals, the Westies have dropped two of three decisions to start the season. West Haven dropped its second straight contest Thursday evening when it fell to Morgan 13-11.
In a game which saw non-stop scoring, Morgan’s Meghan Testoni led the way with six goals. Haley Naccaroto added three goals as Morgan picked up its first victory of the season.
Naccaroto gave Morgan a 1-0 lead at the 24 minute, 47 second mark only to see West Haven’s Erica Toledo respond 40 seconds later. McKenzie Farquharson put West Haven in front with the first of her two goals with 16:59 remaining in the half and Shauna Kelly scored the first of her four goals 3:15 later to extend the lead.
Testoni then took over as she sandwiched a pair of goals around one from Mollie Simmons to give Morgan a 4-3 lead. Testoni extended the lead and added another goal 3:33 later to extend the lead to 5-3.
Goals by Allison Hemstock and Kelly sent West Haven to the half trailing 6-5. Sarah Mozzochi scored Morgan’s final goal of the opening half.
Naccaroto scored twice in the first 10 minutes of the second half as Morgan looked to pull away. Kaitlin Coyle scored with 21:47 remaining and Candice Kross added another tally with 10:07 remaining for West Haven.
Farquharson and Kelly scored 1:30 apart to give West Haven a chance but the Huskies kept West Haven an arm’s length away. Testoni scored her final goal with 6:29 remaining.
West Haven got closer but could not tie the game. Hemstock’s second of the game and Kelly’s fourth in the final minute were not enough as Morgan held on.
Each team had 28 shots in the game. Morgan’s Emma Ramcke made 14 saves and West Haven’s Samantha Palmieri finished with 15. 

Westies lose fourth straight
Berlin stifles WH offense in 7-2 loss
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(April 21, 2011) – The West Haven girls lacrosse team lost its fourth straight contest after a season-opening victory. After averaging close to 12 goals a game to start the season, West Haven’s high-octane offense was slowed down by Berlin in a 7-2 loss at Ken Strong Stadium Thursday evening.
West Haven (1-4) scored the first goal of each half but the Redcoats finished the scoring each time. Amanda Houley gave the Westies a 1-0 lead with 16 minutes, 33 seconds remaining in the opening half, but Cassidy Goodwin and Berlin took over.
Goodwin scored four times in the contest, including the last three goals of the first half. After Kira Eleveld tied the game 3:26 after Houley’s goal, Goodwin went to work.
Scoring three times in the last 3:19 of the opening half, Goodwin changed the tempo of the game. The Berlin sophomore gave the Redcoats a 2-1 lead then increased the margin to two goals 27 seconds later. Goodwin’s third straight tally with 47 seconds remaining in the half gave Berlin a 4-1 lead.
McKenzie Farquharson gave West Haven life to start the second half. The junior beat Berlin’s Kas Colasanti to cut the deficit to 4-2 with 23:59 remaining.
Farquharson’s goal would be West Haven’s last on the day. The score would remain at 4-2 until 9:04 remained when Eleveld gave Berlin a 5-2 lead.
Shannon Murphy iced the game with 2:29 remaining and Goodwin’s fourth goal with 47 seconds remaining in the contest gave Berlin the 7-2 victory.
Colasanti made six saves in the win for Berlin. Fallon Frawley made five saves in the loss for West Haven.

Indians topple West Haven
Losing streak reaches five games
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(April 27, 2011) - After opening the season with a victory, the West Havengirls lacrosse team has dropped five in a row. The latest in the losing streak came Wednesday evening when Guilford defeated the Westies 16-5 at Ken Strong Stadium.
The Westies struggled early, scoring just twice in the first half, and never recovered. West Haven trailed by seven goals at the half, on the way to a lop-sided loss.
Guilford took command of the game early as the Indians scored the first six goals of the game before West Haven had an answer. Shauna Kelly finally got West Haven on the board with 9 minutes, 18 seconds remaining in the half to cut the deficit to 6-1.
After Ellen Kebabian, Nicole Jewett and Leigh Rooney scored within four minutes, McKenzie Farquharson scored for the Westies with 22 seconds remaining in the half. Farquharson's goal brought the Westies within 9-2.
Samantha Young scored early in the second half to get West Haven within 9-3 but the Westies got no closer. Guilford answered with the next six goals, including two each by Emilee Standish and Dara Davis, to take a 15-3 lead.
Farquharson scored twice in a span of 3:07 in the final 4:47 of the game but it was not nearly enough. Guilford held a 23-9 shot advantage in the game.
Kebabian, Julianna Malloy, Davis, Rooney, Kayla Tyska and Riley Smith each scored to give Guilford the 6-0 lead in the first half. Rooney finished the game with four goals and Kebabian and Davis each had three in the win for the Indians.
Samantha Palmieri made five saves and Fallon Frawley one save in the loss. Carley Elkin made four saves in the victory for Guilford.

Jacques leads Berlin past West Haven
Three first half goals key to victory
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(May 7, 2011) - Since opening the season with a victory over North Haven, the West Haven girls lacrosse team has dropped six straight decisions. The Westies extended their losing streak Saturday when they fell on the road toBerlin by a score of 8-3.
In a game dominated by defense in the first half, West Haven was hurt as it scored just once. The Westies trailed 5-1 at the half and never caught up.
The Westies had a hard time stopping Berlin's Bianca Jacques in the first half as she scored three times. Jacques opened the scoring with 23 minutes, 3 seconds remaining in the half before West Haven tied the game 5:22 later on Samantha Young’s goal.
Young’s tally to even the score would be as close as West Haven would get as Jen Straub put Berlin up for good with 14:26 remaining in the half. Jacques scored twice in a 1:21 time frame to give Berlin a 4-1 lead, the latter coming with 8:24 remaining in the half. Cassidy Goodwin closed out the first half scoring and gave Berlin a 5-1 lead when she beat West Haven’s Samantha Palmieri with 1:30 remaining in the half.
Berlin put the contest away, scoring the first two goals of the second half. Kira Eleveld scored at the 22:58 mark and Morgan Imossi scored 5:35 later for a 7-1 lead.
Candice Kross cut into the deficit off an assist from Amanda Houley with 9:08 remaining but the six-goal deficit was back in place with Eleveld’s second goal of the second half with 5:43 remaining.
West Haven closed the scoring with 1:24 remaining. Kross’ second goal of the game was not enough for West Haven to stop its losing streak.
Berlin held a 25-12 shot advantage in the game. Palmieri made 10 saves in the loss.

Shelton keeps Westies reeling
Spadinger and McGinnis lead way for Gaels
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(May 9, 2011) - The losing streak has reached seven games for the West Haven girls lacrosse team. In a high-scoring affair against Shelton at Ken Strong Stadium Monday evening, the Westies were unable to contain Sydney Spadinger and Katie McGinnis as each scored four times in a 14-8Shelton victory.
Spadinger put the Gaels ahead quickly, scoring with 23 minutes, 40 seconds to go in the first half before West Haven’s Amanda Houley evened the game just one minute later. The two teams then traded goals as Angie Ferro gaveShelton a brief lead until Shauna Kelly knotted the contest once again 1:25 later.
The Gaels then took over. Three Shelton goals by McGinnis, Taylor Devine and Alyson Ferrante in a span of 8:47 had the visitors ahead 5-2 before the two offenses took off in the final three minutes.
Kelly scored twice in 13 seconds to cut the deficit to 5-4 for West Haven. Spadinger scored twice in the final 1:35 of the half, including the lastShelton goal for an 8-4 halftime lead. Kristen Biatowas scored with 22 seconds remaining in the first half and Spadinger followed 11 seconds later.
Houley put West Haven within three goals with the first goal of the second half but McGinnis scored the next three for Shelton to put the game out of reach. Ava Gambardella got the Westies within 11-6 with 17:25 remaining in the game but Shelton’s Ferro and Spadinger responded quickly to end anyWest Haven threat.
McKenzie Farquharson capped the West Haven scoring. The Westies junior scored twice in 3:12 but it was not nearly enough.
Kelly led West Haven with three goals and Farquharson added two goals and an assist. Houley also scored twice for the Westies. Samantha Palmieri made 14 saves in the loss.

Katie Coyle goes around the SHA defense. Photo courtesy of Todd Dandelske.

GIRLS LACROSSE 2011

All-State players - Kelly Stratton '00; Shannon Stratton '03; Joane Amato '03; Melanie Raubeson '03; Alix Sutcliffe '09

SHA rolls past Westies
Nine first half goals too much for West Haven to overcome
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(May 12, 2011) – The West Haven girls lacrosse team lost its ninth straight contest Thursday when the Westies fell to Sacred Heart Academy inHamden. The Pacers scored nine teams in the first half and rolled to a 17-7 victory over the Westies.
West Haven (1-9) had a hard time stopping Nicole Casasanta as she scored five times and assisted on another goal. Cassie Slowik also proved dangerous for the Pacers as she scored four times.
Allyson Serniak, Rachael Casasanta and Lindsey Cafano each scored twice, while Deirdre Reidy and Carroline Consorte scored once for Sacred Heart.
West Haven trailed 9-4 at the half and could not mount a comeback in the second half, scoring just three times. Amanda Houley, Shauna Kelly and McKenzie Farquharson each scored twice for the Westies while Hemstock added a goal.
Samantha Palmieri made eight saves in the loss for West Haven. Meghan Castellano made nine saves for Sacred Heart as the Pacers held a 21-16 shot advantage.

Streak finally over
West Haven beats Stratford to stop skid at nine games
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(May 14, 2011) – The West Haven girls lacrosse team snapped its nine-game losing streak with a victory over Stratford Saturday evening at Ken Strong Stadium. Since defeating North Haven in the season opener, the Westies had dropped nine in a row.
That streak came to an end Saturday when the Westies scored seven times in the first half and defeated Stratford 15-8. McKenzie Farquharson and Amanda Houley led the West Haven offense as Farquharson scored five times and added two assists and Houley scored three times and also had two assists.
Shauna Kelly, who scored twice and recorded a pair of assists, got West Haven going quickly, scoring just 45 seconds into the game off an assist from Houley. Farquharson increased the lead to 2-0 just 52 seconds later and Brooke Vasilescu scored 1:12 later for a 3-0 lead.
After Stratford cut the deficit to 3-1, Kelly’s second goal of the game with 13:22 remaining in the half increased the lead to three goals once again. Abigail Cerone cut the deficit to 4-2 for Stratford but goals by Ava Gambardella and Farquharson gave West Haven a 7-5 lead at the half.
West Haven put the game away at the start of the second half, scoring the first five goals. Houley scored twice 53 seconds apart with Farquharson picking up an assist on the first tally, before Farquharson scored 39 seconds later for a 10-5 lead.
Houley scored her third goal of the second half with 18:32 remaining and Farquharson scored 2:19 later for a 12-5 advantage. Allison Hemstock increased the lead to seven goals with 12:59 remaining and Farquharson and Erica Toledo rounded out the scoring in the final 5:30 of the game.
Cerone scored five times in the game, including three goals in the first half for Stratford. Samantha Palmieri made 12 saves in the win for West Haven.

Westies win second straight
Farquharson and Kelly lead the way
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(May 17, 2011) - After losing nine consecutive contests, the West Havengirls lacrosse team is on a streak going in the opposite direction. Coming off a victory over Stratford to snap the skid, the Westies won their second straight Tuesday night with a 10-7 overtime victory over Mercy.
Led by McKenzie Farquharson, who had four goals and an assist and Shauna Kelly, who scored three times, the Westies improved to 3-9 on the season.
Farquharson and Kelly were the story in overtime as Farquharson gave the Westies the lead for good with 2 minutes, 13 seconds remaining and Kelly sealed the contest with the final two goals. Kelly scored twice in the final 28 seconds to clinch the victory, the latter giving West Haven a 10-7 lead with 14 seconds remaining in the game.
Mercy jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead on goals within 53 seconds. Shannon Sulmasy started the scoring with 24:45 remaining in the half and Sarah Hemstock increased the lead to two goals less than a minute later.
West Haven bounced right back, scoring the next three goals. Candice Kross cut the deficit to 2-1 with 19:57 remaining in the half and Kelly and Farquharson scored one minute apart to give the Westies a 3-2 lead with 10:29 remaining in the first half.
After Jillian Wollman tied the game once again, the Westies responded with 5:25 to go in the opening half. Farquharson’s goal gave the Westies a 4-3 lead at the break.
The two teams alternated the seven goals in the second half to force overtime. Hemstock evened the game at four for the Tigers with 21:54 remaining in regulation but Kross set up Ava Gambardella for a 5-4 West Haven lead with 20:23 remaining.
Shannon Egan knotted the game at five with the first of her two second half goals 3:22 after Gambardella’s goal but Farquharson set up Amanda Houley for a 6-5 West Haven advantage 1:29 later. Again, the Tigers evened the score as Hemstock scored with 14:59 remaining.
The tie would be short-lived as Farquharson gave West Haven its last lead of regulation 39 seconds later. When Egan scored her second of the half with 10:41 to go in regulation, the scoring stopped until late in the contest.
Samantha Palmieri made 17 saves in the victory as Mercy held a 25-24 shot advantage. Hannah Sullivan made 11 saves in the loss for the Tigers.   

Amity pounds Westies
West Haven falls to 3-10 with loss
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(May 19, 2011) – The West Haven girls lacrosse team fell to 3-10 with a 16-6 loss against Amity Thursday evening in West Haven. The Westies trailed from the start and never recovered against the Spartans.
Amity jumped out of the gates quickly, scoring seven times in the first half.West Haven trailed 7-2 and quickly saw Amity pull away with nine goals in the second half.
The Westies could not contain Amy McNeil who scored six times and added three assists. Alicia Cardella was also a force with six goals and an assist and Amanda Bucciero picked up two assists for Amity.
Sophomore Samantha Young led West Haven with three goals. Julia Consorte scored twice and Shauna Kelly had a goal and an assist in the loss.
Samantha Palmieri made seven saves in the loss.

Westies win on Senior Night
Farquharson’s four goals helps seniors in final home game
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(May 23, 2011) - Not even inclement weather could stop the West Havenlacrosse team Monday evening. Led by McKenzie Farquharson’s four goals, the Westies hung on to defeat North Haven 10-9 on Senior Night at Ken Strong Stadium.
The Westies had a hard time containing Riley Dinneen, who scored seven times in the contest, but did a fine job outside of that. With the victory, West Haven improved to 4-11 on the season.
Dinneen started her big night just 19 seconds into the game when she beatWest Haven’s Samantha Palmieri. Julie DePaola gave North Haven a 2-0 lead 1 minute, 22 seconds later before Amanda Houley finally got West Haven on the board with 20:07 remaining in the half.
Trailing by one goal, the Westies looked to even the game but Dinneen again had an answer. Dinneen’s third tally of the contest gave North Haven a 3-1 lead with 18:10 to go in the half.
The Westies scored the next three goals in a span of 5:10 to take a 4-3 lead. Farquharson started the run 1:08 after Dinneen’s goal and Shauna Kelly evened the game 2:30 later. Houley then set up Allison Hemstock with 11:52 remaining in the first half for a 4-3 lead.
Dinneen again had an answer. The North Haven sniper scored the next two goals for the Indians, giving North Haven a 5-4 advantage with 7:45 remaining in the first half.
Dinneen’s second goal would be North Haven’s last lead of the game as West Haven’s Samantha Young assisted on Kelly’s second goal of the game with 3:34 to go in the opening half to even the game at five. Farquharson then scored twice in a span of 26 seconds for a 7-5 West Haven lead.
Farquharson scored her third straight goal when she opened the second half by beating Kaleigh Hemstock for an 8-5 lead. Dinneen cut the deficit to 8-6 with her fifth goal of the game but Ava Gambardella scored off an assist from Brooke Vasilescu to restore the three-goal advantage with 14:28 to go in the contest.
After Caroline Campanelli cut the deficit to 9-7 with 12:49 remaining, Vasilescu again gave West Haven a three-goal lead. Dinneen scored twice in the final 8:53, the latter coming with 1:14 remaining, but West Haven hung on for the win.
Palmieri made 10 saves in the victory for West Haven. West Haven held a 31-20 shot advantage in the victory.  

West Haven falls in SCC opener
Top-seeded Hand too much for Westies
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(May 24, 2011) - The West Haven girls lacrosse team entered the Southern Connecticut Conference tournament with a tall task. The eighth-seeded Westies traveled to play top-seeded Hand-Madison in the opening round of the tournament Tuesday.
Paced by 12 first half goals, the Tigers easily rolled to a 16-4 victory over the Westies. West Haven trailed 12-1 at the half and never got on track.
The Tigers only outscored West Haven 4-3 in the second half but the game was already decided at that point. Ava Gambardella, Kaitlin Coyle, Candice Kross and Allison Hemstock each scored for the Westies. Kross, Hemstock and Amber Nadeau each had an assist for the Westies in the loss.
The Tigers were led by Hannah Morgan who had three goals and an assist and Meghan Kane who scored twice. Taylor Raleigh, Kara McHugh, MaryKate McNulty, Shaelin Gottlick, Brooke Baumgartel, Catherine Chatillon, Hannah Johnson, Jayna Concannon, Lauren Oswald and Carly Floyd each scored once for Hand.
Hand outshot West Haven 31-16 in the contest. Samantha Palmieri made 15 saves in the loss for West Haven while Christy Forrest (5 saves), Caroline Smith (2 saves) and Lindsay Wargo (5 saves) each played well for the Tigers.