Nighthawk Laxmen Look To Peak In Playoffs

By Andy Hutchison

Almost every team experiences ups and downs and the Newtown High School boys’ lacrosse team was no exception this spring. The Nighthawks, who finished the season with an 11-5 overall record and 9-3 mark in South-West Conference play, certainly had more ups and downs, but the Hawks are hoping to be 100 percent on their game in the playoffs, which are set to get underway with the SWC Tournament’s quarterfinals on Saturday (Blue & Gold Stadium at 10 am).

Newtown alternated losses with wins during its last five games of the campaign after a win-filled beginning to the campaign, giving Coach Glenn Adams and his players guarded confidence as they enter into the so-called second season of 2010.

“I feel like we haven’t even played our best game yet — and when we do we’ll be a scary team,” freshman Dan Hebert said.

Hebert is a newcomer to the slightly revamped defending SWC champion team who as had to step into a more prominent role in recent games with senior Zach Dent recently going down with a separated shoulder sustained in practice. Adams is hopeful Dent will be back for the postseason.

Another Nighthawk to make a bigger impact in the latter part of the season is long-pole player Dana Hansen, a senior who switched from close defense to the long-pole midfield position after battling for playing time with a trio of defenders: Connor McNamara, Ralph Sergiovanni, and Max Nacewicz.

“It’s good because I was able to make more significant contributions to the team,” Hansen said of the switch.

Hansen scored a goal and was one of nine Nighthawks to find the net in Newtown’s 9-3 win over visiting Bethel on May 12.

In the next game, Newtown got a strong defensive effort and solid goaltending from Brandon Body (13 saves) but couldn’t get the offense going in a 7-3 setback at New Fairfield on May 15. The  Nighthawks rebounded with a 13-3 win over Immaculate at Blue & Gold Stadium on Monday. Tim Dalton scored three goals, and Kyle O’Connor and Justin Brophy both netted two tallies.

Newtown capped off the regular season with a 7-6 loss (the team’s fourth one-goal setback of the season) to nonconference foe St Joseph of Trumbull on the road and in the rain on Tuesday. Lewis Thompson and O’Connor had two goals apiece in the defeat.

“If we can put the defense and offense together in the same game we’re going to be a scary team and I definitely think we can play with any team in the state when we’re playing our best,” Adams said. “We’ve just got to make sure we have all of those pieces together.”

The more the Hawks can put everything together the more likely they are to advance in the SWC tourney. The semifinals are scheduled for Wednesday in Weston with the final on Friday, May 28 in Brookfield at 7:30 pm.