THE HOME OF WEST HAVEN SPORTS

WestieBlue

Draw
Westies and Amity play to 1-1 tie
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(September 9, 2023) - After two failed attempts to open the regular season due to weather, the West Haven boys soccer team finally got on the field Saturday when the team traveled to play Amity. I hot conditions, the Westies and Amity played to a 1-1 draw.
“It was a very evenly played game in very hot conditions,” West Haven coach Chris Cap said. “It was a fair result.” 
In an evenly played contest, Amity held a 13-12 shot advantage. West Haven junior goalkeeper Yahzeel Beyley made 11 saves in the draw, while Amity’s William Keenan finished with eight saves.
Both goals came early in the contest as West Haven took a 1-0 lead when junior Ethan Masoperh scored off an assist from Rafael Gazcon at the 13:40 mark of the opening half.

Amity needed less than 14 minutes to respond as Erik Jiang scored the equalizer at the 27:25 mark.

Power Surge
Westies top Foran 6-1
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(September 12, 2023) - The West Haven boys soccer team scored five first half goals and picked up its first victory of the season with a 6-1 victory over Foran Tuesday afternoon.
Junior Keifer Tandazo led the Westies with a pair of goals, while Rafael Gazcon, Ethan Masoperh, Juan Vargas-Martinez, and Angel Magana also scored for West Haven. Masoperh added two assists, while Vargas-Martinez and Gazcon each added an assist.
“It was a very good all-around effort on our part,” West Haven coach Chris Cap said. “It was nice to get different players involved in the scoring.”
West Haven took a 1-0 lead just seven minutes into the contest when Gazcon scored off an assist from Masoperh, before Masoperh assisted on Tandazo’s tally 5:35 later for a 2-0 advantage. Masoperh extended the lead to 3-0 with an unassisted tally at the 30:13 mark, before Tandazo scored off an assist from Gazcon 7:32 later.
An unassisted goal by Vargas-Martinez increased the lead to 5-0 less than a minute later, before Magana closed West Haven’s scoring for a 6-0 lead off an assist from Vargas-Martinez at the 57:15 mark.

The Westies held a 34-8 shot advantage with Yazheel Beyley’s shutout attempt broken up with less than 13 minutes to go. Beyley finished with two saves.

Two in a Row
Westies top Cross 2-0
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(September 16, 2023) - The West Haven boys soccer team improved to 2-0-1 with a 2-0 victory over Wilbur Cross Saturday morning at the University of New Haven. Ethan Masoperh and Rafael Gazcon each scored for the Westies, while Yahzeel Beyley finished with eight saves.
West Haven took a 1-0 lead when Gazcon set up Masoperh at the 27:37 mark of the first half. Gazcon then sealed the victory with 16:35 remaining in the contest, scoring off a penalty kick.
“This was a very nice team win,” West Haven coach Chris Cap. “Everyone stepped up.” West Haven held an 11-9 shot advantage in the contest. 

Three Straight
Masoperh leads WH to 4-1 win over Hamden
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(September 19, 2023) - The West Haven boys soccer team is on a roll. Behind three goals from Ethan Masoperh, the Westies won their third straight contest with a 4-1 home victory over Hamden Tuesday afternoon.
In the three victories, West Haven has outscored its opponents 12-2. The Westies are now 3-0-1 on the year.
“It was a hat trick for Ethan (Masoperh),” West Haven coach Chris Cap said. “All four of our backs had an outstanding game, including Manny Gordon, Malik Ouro-Adei, Collin Charron , and a special shout out to David Smith with his two assists.” 
With an 11-10 shot advantage in the game, the Westies took a 2-0 lead in the first half when Masoperh scored at the 7:30 and 26:30 marks off assists from David Smith each time.
After Hamden scored 8:39 into the second half, Rafael Gazcon scored an unassisted goal at the 52:40 mark for a 3-1 advantage. Masoperh capped the scoring with a goal off a penalty kick with 7:34 remaining in regulation.

Yahzeel Beyley made eight saves in the win for West Haven.

Blanked
Guilford sends WH to first loss
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(September 21, 2023) - The West Haven boys soccer team suffered its first loss of the season with a 1-0 loss at Guilford Thursday afternoon. With the loss, the Westies fell to 3-1-1 on the year.
“Our backs had a great game, making multiple saves off the line,” West Haven coach Chris Cap said. “Unfortunately, the one mistake we made hurt us.”
After a scoreless first half, Guilford’s Owen Medvecky scored an unassisted goal at the 71:42 mark for the only goal Guilford needed.

Yahzeel Beyley made four saves in the loss for West Haven, while Anthony Malatesta made four as well in the shutout victory.

Back on Track
Guilford sends WH to first loss
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(September 23, 2023) - The West Haven boys soccer team got back to its winning ways with a 2-0 victory at North Haven Saturday evening. With the victory, West Haven improved to 4-1-1.
Darwin Calvopina recorded the shutout in goal for the Westies with seven saves.
“It was another all-around nice team effort,” West Haven coach Chris Cap said. “Congratulations to Darwin (Calvopina) on his first varsity shutout, and Caleb (Awuah) on his first varsity goal.”
Despite North Haven holding an 11-7 shot advantage in the game, West Haven took a 1-0 lead with 1:34 remaining in the first half on a goal by Caleb Awuah off an assist from David Smith.The one goal lead held up until Rafael Gazcon scored for a 2-0 lead at the 56:37 mark off an assist from Daniel Cabrera.

Westies roll past Harding
Hunter, Romero score in 6-0 win
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(September 25, 2023) - The West Haven boys soccer team improved to 5-1-1 with a 6-0 victory over Harding Monday afternoon in West Haven. Ethan Masoperh led the Westies with two goals and an assist, Angel Magana had a goal and two assists, and Darwin Calvopina posted his second straight shutout with one save.
“We had a very nice second half,” West Haven coach Chris Cap said. “We moved the ball well and we were able to get different players on the scoring sheet. Congratulations to Matthew Hunter and Walter Romero on their first varsity goals.”
After a scoreless first half, the Westies blew the game open with six goals in the second half. Just 5:27 in, Rafael Gazcon gave West Haven a 1-0 lead with an assist going to Masoperh. Less than nine minutes later, the lead was two goals as Masoperh scored the first of his two goals off an assist from Foley.
Magana then set up Masoperh (61:45) and Walter Romero (71:20) for a 4-0 advantage, before Matthew Hunter scored an unassisted goal with 1:28 remaining. Magana closed the scoring less than a minute later off an assist from Romero.

West Haven held a 15-2 shot advantage in the game. 

Westies blank Harding
WH improves to 6-1-1 with win
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(September 27, 2023) - The West Haven boys soccer team is inching closer to a postseason berth early in the season. With a 2-0 road victory over Harding Wednesday afternoon, the Westies improved to 6-1-1 on the year.
“Harding out played us for most of the match, but our backs held tight, and we were able to get two late goals,” West Haven coach Chris Cap said.
West Haven held a 14-2 shot advantage in the contest and goalkeeper Darwin Calvopina recorded his third shutout of the year.

After a scoreless first half, West Haven scored the only goal it would need with 7:30 remaining in regulation as Juan Vargas scored off an assist from Ethan Masoperh. Matthew Panton added an insurance tally when he scored off a penalty kick in the final minute for the 2-0 final.

Shelton tops Westies
WH falls 3-1
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(September 29, 2023) - The West Haven boys soccer team suffered its second loss of the season in a 3-1 defeat at Shelton Friday evening. The Gaels scored twice in the first half and never trailed as West Haven fell to 6-2-1 on the year.
“It was a tough game to play in horrible weather,” West Haven coach Chris Cap said. “We made a few mistakes that hurt us.”
Walter Romero’s goal, off an assist from Rafael Gazcon, with 15 seconds left in the first half gave the Westies life, but West Haven could never get the equalizer.
Shelton scored in the final minute of regulation to seal the victory. The Gaels held an 8-7 shot advantage in the contest.

Darwin Calvopina made five saves in the loss.

Amity nips West Haven
Westies drop 2-1 decision
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(October 2, 2023) - The West Haven boys soccer team dropped its second straight decision with a 2-1 loss against Amity Monday evening in West Haven. The loss dropped the Westies to 6-3-1 on the year.
“We made a few mistakes that hurt us, and unfortunately we weren’t able to get an equalizer,” West Haven coach Chris Cap said.
The Westies took a 1-0 lead when Ethan Masoperh scored off an assist from Rafael Gazcon at the 16:32 mark. Amity then scored twice in less than a minute late in the first half to take a 2-1 lead the Spartans never relinquished.    

Amity held a 10-9 shot advantage in the game. Darwin Calvopina made six saves in the loss.

BOYS SOCCER 2023

All-State Players - Luigi Cappetta '88; Eric Soares '97; Dave Forero '99; Carlos Caracas '00; Matt Gilman '02; Salah Oumorou '14, '15, '16; Donaldo Yanez '21
All-New England Players and All-American Players - Salah Oumorou '16; Aldo Barragan '20; Anthony Vendrella '20;