NHS Laxmen’s Run Stopped In State Semifinal

By Andy Hutchison

NORWALK — The big picture is a nice one: Newtown High School’s boys’ lacrosse team got to the state tournament semifinals for the first time in school history. The way that semifinal appearance unfolded, however, left the Nighthawks with a bit of a bad taste. The Nighthawks trailed by just a goal at halftime, but saw Ridgefield pull away for a 13-5 win in the Class L State Tournament clash at Brien McMahon High School on June 6.

The third-seeded Tigers reeled off eight unanswered second-half goals to pull away and eliminate the second-seeded Nighthawks.

Brendan McNamara and Justin Brophy both scored twice and Trey Trudell also hit the back of the net. Goaltender Evan Isaacs made 12 saves, but the Tigers got three goals apiece from Sean Riley and Timothy Cozens on their way to a championship rematch with Fairfield Prep (Ridgefield won a nail-biter last year).

Newtown and Ridgefield were evenly matched early on, as the teams traded goals and slim leads. Then came the turning-point third quarter, during which the Tigers seized control by outscoring the Nighthawks 4-0.

“We just didn’t have the ball the entire third quarter,” said Newtown Coach Glenn Adams, noting that Ridgefield did a good job of getting to ground balls as well as gaining control off the draws to begin the second half.

Dan Hebert had two assists and Trudell and Graham Derrickson also set up goals in the loss. Trudell and McNamara both had five ground ball scoops, Brophy and Cory Fisher each had four grounders, and Jack Kearney and Justin Spath each picked up three.

Adams views the season as a success because the returning team members stand to build off of its deepest run into state tourney play, and learn from the setback, he believes.

“Now that we got here, we know what the intensity’s going to be like playing in these games and getting to this point,” Adams said.

“These guys did a great job. There’s nothing they should be hanging their heads about at all,” said Adams, a third-year NHS coach, who will miss the seniors who have put in a lot of time and effort throughout the years. “I can’t say enough about them. They’re just tremendous players, tremendous men — tremendous individuals.”