REDDING — Newtown High School's boys' soccer team lost its rematch to host Joel Barlow of Redding, 1-0, on a late second half goal on October 22.

Throughout the entirety of the game, Joel Barlow had a few more shots than Newtown, but there was an even amount of possession time on both sides. Newtown captain and goalkeeper CJ Trivers had a couple nice saves in the first half, and Jalen Minter created a few good shot opportunities, but both teams were unable to make anything happen. Going into the second half, the game was scoreless, prompting both teams to pick up the pace.

“The intensity level picked up in the second half. We dictated to play with the ball in front of us, and the team did well doing that,” NHS Assistant Coach Justin Stevens said.

Barlow continued to bring the shots, but Rick Irving — who was put in goal at the half — was a wall in net for Newtown. It was not until about minutes remaining that Barlow put one on the board. Following this loss, Newtown headed into the regular season finale against New Fairfield at Blue & Gold Stadium, beginning at 6 pm, apparently competing for the fourth, fifth, or sixth seed in the South-West Conference tournament that is scheduled to begin this weekend.

Despite losing by a goal to both of their possible opponents, Notre Dame-Fairfield and Pomperaug of Southbury, the players and coaches are confident they can do well in the tournament.

“We’re here to compete. We’ve grown and are a serious team that people are afraid to play. I’m confident we can go far and maybe even win,” captain Owen Baillargeon said.

And Trivers reiterated the confidence, explaining that Newtown just needs to go out and play. 

“We have a lot of potential, and if we play the game we can get the results we want and make a run,” Trivers said.

Stevens, too, looked toward Newtown’s type of soccer leading to success in the tournament. With New Fairfield coming ahead of tournament play, the game was to serve as tuneup and preparation for Newtown.

“I like to take one game at a time. We continue to progress and do what we do as a team. We had a couple injuries recently, which allowed us to play more people and get them ready for similarly tough teams in the tournament,” Stevens said.

The Nighthawks, with 24 points, were the sixth seed, one point behind fifth-seeded Barlow and two points behind fourth-seeded Notre Dame heading into the last game. New Fairfield was in the 11th seed and out of the SWC playoff picture. Newtown, by earning a point with a tie, would match Barlow in points and win the head-to-head tiebreaker with Barlow having beaten Barlow 1-0 in their first meeting, which counts in the SWC standings; NHS would earn the fifth seed and visit Notre Dame. With a win, the Hawks would earn three points and move past Notre Dame into the fourth seed and host Notre Dame in the first round. With a loss, the Hawks would remain in the sixth position and visit No. 3 Pomperaug of Southbury in the quarterfinals. Winners of the quarterfinal round games will play in the semifinals on Monday, October 29, for the right to play in the championship game on Thursday, November 1.