By Kim J. Harmon

By KIM HARMON

Published: Jun 04, 2001 12:00 am

By Kim J. Harmon

RIDGEFIELD â For the first six minutes of the second quarter, it was a game.

For the other 42 minutes, it wasnât.

The Newtown High School boysâ lacrosse team entered the CIAC Division II state tournament ranked 10th at 8-7 and thus had to take their show on the road â down to Ridgefield â last Saturday for some first round action.

The Tigers were ranked 7th at 9-5 and while their record wasnât all that different from that of the Nighthawks, their skill â the speed, the ability to pass the ball on the run, the still defense â was evident.

And because of that skill, the âHawks saw their season end with a 17-8 loss.

After the âHawks had fallen to Brookfield in the semi-finals of the South-West Conference tournament, coach Brian Micena had warned his squad that, due to the vagaries of the CIAC Division II seeding, it would be playing the toughest teams first.

He was right on the money.

Ridgefield was all over Newtown in the first quarter, scoring seven goals in all . . . the last with just four seconds left in the period. After Tom Ryan had rifled a hard shot past Ridgefield goalie KC Peterson to trim the Ridgefield lead to 3-1 midway through the period, the Tigers scored in rapid-fire to quickly extend that lead to 7-1.

The âHawks seemed doomed after just 12 minutes, but they made a rousing run in the first six minutes of the second period that set the Tigers back on their heels.

Matt Saunders started the scoring with a hard, bouncer from up high in the box. Dan Maley, from nearly the same spot, was next and then Casey Kirch, going with his left hand in front of the crease, followed with a goal that trimmed the Ridgefield lead to 7-4.

Very nice offensive movement was the catalyst for the run.

The Tigers stopped the rally for a moment with a goal of their own but Kirch, utilizing the same move he used on his first goal, brought the âHawks back within three goals with about six minutes still left to play in the half.

But, just like that, the run was over.

Ridgefield took over.

And the Tigers scored the next seven goals in a row, on into the third quarter, to take a commanding 15-5 lead. Kirch, Saunders and John Conlon all scored in the second half, but the âHawks never got closer than eight goals (early in the fourth quarter) the rest of the way.

For Kirch and Saunders â the Nighthawksâ two leading scorers â it was a disappointing finish to what had been a pretty productive season. In 2001, Kirch scored 34 goals and assisted on 38 others (No. 1 on the team) to finish with 72 points while Saunders scored 46 goals (No. 1 on the team) and assisted on 22 others to finish with 68 points.

Ryan also showed a bit of goal scoring prowess and his goal against Ridgefield gave him an impressive 35 for the season.

But those numbers aside, the âHawks finished 8-8 overall in the first year under coach Micena and although they will be losing the likes of Saunders, Pete Yemc, Matt Lynch, Matt Sullivan, and John Conlon, a talented group of underclassmen will return to take another shot.

Jayvees Finish 9-4

The junior varsity boys finished a successful 2001 season with a record of 9-4 under the direction of first-year coach Chuck Chiodo.

The âHawks lost only to Division I powers Fairfield, Fairfield Prep, and Glastonbury along with an overtime loss to the Trumbull varsity team.

They were led onÂ attack by leading scorer John Oliver, Clay Brier, Matt Wheeler, Jim Davis, Kyle Kirch, and Adam Pennarola. The midfield lines included Mike Soder, Stan Fabas, Matt Tavella, Jay Romanelli, Chris Knapp, Gavin Levy, Gary Marinelli, and dominant face-off specialist David Wesley.

The defense, which gave up double digits only once all season, was led by Devon Manfredonia, Ted Yemc, Dan Mallen, Charlie Hill, and goalkeeper Chris Body, who posted an outstanding 4.2 goals per game against average.

SCORING

PlayersÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â GÂ Â Â Â Â Â AÂ Â Â Â Â PT

Casey KirchÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 34Â Â Â Â Â 38Â Â Â Â Â 72

Matt SaundersÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â 46Â Â Â Â Â 22Â Â Â Â Â 68

Tom RyanÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 35Â Â Â Â Â 16Â Â Â Â Â 51

John ConlonÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 31Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 7Â Â Â Â Â 38

Matt SullivanÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 8Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 2Â Â Â Â Â 10

Dan MaleyÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 7Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 2Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 9

Pete YemcÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 2Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 7Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 9

John OliverÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 6Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 7

Matt SodorÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 0Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 4Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 4

Ted YemcÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 2

Kyle KirchÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 2Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 0Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 2

Matt LynchÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 2

Brian HamiltonÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 0Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1

Pat MonahanÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 0Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1

Fourth Annual Sip ‘N Shop Enjoyed By Many

BOE Listens To Fall Sports Update At Meeting

Ram Pasture Hosts 40th Annual Tree Lighting Celebration

Ram Pasture Tree Lighting Donations Continue

‘Songs Of The Glorious Season’

Performed By Newtown Choral Society

Half right. The other half wrong (and left).

Why Gun Violence Is Higher In The US

I want to clarify something that was not clear in my letter. Newtown DOES have an affordable housing plan, put together with the aid of the Council of Governments (COG) in 2022 and approved by the LC that year. The strategies in that plan are to "encourage", "support", "explore", "promote" various aspects of state and local affordable housing programs. Those strategies are largely repeated in the Housing Chapter of the Plan of Conservation and Development being finalized now. Newtown needs to measure its performance against those strategies and refine them to reflect the current situation and evaluate whether we are eligible for a moratorium on 8-30(g) projects if we have met the criteria. It's a question of being more specific and more rigorous in what we as a community would like to see to address this real and serious need, rather than to be on our heels when a developer proposes a project on their terms. An independent look outside the application process would be best for that. Thank you. Peter.

Discusses Affordable Housing

I on Glover Ave. walk my two Labs every morning and evening. Drivers are constantly cutting me off at the shopping center entrance and other driveways. There is no understanding of pedestrians rights. Drives make left turns onto Queen when its forbidden. Most cars cruse right thru the crosswalks without stopping for pedestrians. The Police have not issued one citation nor even a warming for crosswalk violations. The situation is out of control and now a loved resident, Pete, and a pet, Coby have been killed. Time for a plan. The problem is not Intersections, nor traffic, the problem 98s drivers and lack of enforcement. The plan need to create a culture that drivers obey speed limits and honor pedestrians right of ways. Isn't that the job of the Police Department and The Police Commission, to protect Newtowns citizens. This is a call to action.

Unidentified Driver Sought After Fatally Striking Dog And Leaving Scene

Its already too late, the Nimby mob have scared developers so that their only option is to use the state wide 8-30 exemption to get around the local zoning board. Thanks Nimby mob.

Backs Moratorium On Dense Development Applications

Ya gotta pay more to live in a Blue state and subsidize the 'affordable' folks.

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By Kim J. Harmon

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