U11 Lightning Laxmen Strike, Take Home Tourney Hardware

The U11 Lightning Blue boys’ lacrosse team won the CONNY Tournament this past weekend.

In the first game of the four-team bracket, Newtown faced a strong Madison Black team. The offensive firepower for the game was led by Forrest “The Cannon” Anderson who scored two goals; the second one a sliding-to-the-ground side-arm blistering shot into the back of the net. 

But Madison tied it up in the fourth quarter 2-2 and, shortly after, Newtown found itself in a two-man-down-situation with time winding down. But the defense, led by standout goalie Ryan Horn, Alek “Bam-Bam, the Shutdown Man” Budd, Tanner “The Wall” Stergue, Thomas “The Hulk” Coppinger, and Andre “Stick’em” Sokk stood tall and didn’t allow a single shot.  With two minutes to go, Kyle “Sully” Sullivan netted the game-winner in Newtown’s 3-2 win.

The victory sent Newtown into the championship bracket against their arch-rival, New Fairfield, which had beaten Newtown earlier in the season. New Fairfield took an early two-goal lead. But the defense dug in and the Lightning fought its way back. David “Wheels” Brestovansky got the team started on a fast-break goal, slicing past two defenders after freezing them with a fake pass. “Happy” Jack McDermott added to the tally with a low slow shot that bounced off the turf and over the goalie’s shoulder. The outstanding middie play of first liners Brennan “Field General” Mayer, “Courageous” Brendan Hall, and “Mighty” Vincent Genovese during the crucial minutes of the second half kept the ball in Newtown’s offensive end. On an assist from Gren “The Hustler” Paynter, Forrest let rip a shot from behind the restraining line which tugged at the back of the net to tie it up 4-4 with three minutes to go. In the final minute of play, the ball ended up on the turf in front of the New Fairfield goal. In the mad scramble for the ball, Garrett “Big Lumber” Norberg scooped it up and banged home the winning goal, scoring off the crossbar to make it 5-4. Jake “The Snake” Meyer won the ensuing face-off and played keepaway with “Cranking” Kyle Burbank to seal the win. Also contributing to the exciting wins were Aiden Coleman, Ethan Brisson, Nick Cappelli, and Liam Creeden.