To the casual fan, or even a more educated soccer eye for that matter, Newtown High School’s boys’ soccer team may appear to be outplayed and over-matched — win or lose — in some games. But the Nighthawks are losing the ball control game, at times, by design. They sit back and allow opposing squads to pass the ball around. More skilled teams might retain the ball for longer periods, but as long as the teams are playing left to right and not back to front, that’s A-okay with the Hawks. Better that than be overly-aggressive and allow an easy breakthrough for the opponent is the philosophy.

The fourth-seeded Nighthawks used their sit-back approach to avenge a regular-season loss to No. 5 Notre Dame-Fairfield, scoring a 1-0 win in the South-West Conference Tournament quarterfinals at Blue & Gold Stadium on October 26.

“We knew we had to work hard because they beat us the first time. It feels good to beat them when it counts. I think we proved we’re the better team at the end of the day,” Newtown captain Owen Baillargeon said.

Bryce Benson’s unassisted first-half goal stood up thanks to Newtown’s patience on defense, allowing the Lancers to possess the ball for much of the match while not allowing them many threats to score.

When Notre Dame managed to break through, strong play in the back by many, including Henry Vaughan, Garrett Mandarano, Tristan Andrews, Duncan O’Leary, Ryan Ruddy, and Bryce Benson, along with the goalkeeping of Cam Trivers, helped Newtown shut down the Lancers.

“We made some tactical changes, knowing what they were going to do,” Newtown Coach Charley Amblo said. “We absorbed pressure so that we would be able to react. Kind of like drawing back a sling.”

Newtown did this in a win over Joel Barlow of Redding earlier in the fall, as well other times.

The Hawks changed up their strategy against top-seeded and host Weston in the SWC semifinals, on October 29. They worked varying defensive strategies into the game as they try to create multiple defensive looks with differing forms of pressure. Amblo anticipates employment of this new system, with the goal of players learning to implement on the fly based on the flow of the game, will benefit the team when it faces tough competition in the upcoming state tournament.

The Weston game was an opportunity to test it out while giving the Nighthawks a chance to compete with the Trojans, the coach said. Weston won 2-0, but Amblo said he saw some positives from his group.

“They were more energized than we were. My feeling is they were the better team throughout the entire year,” said Amblo, comparing the Trojans to all other SWC opponents.

Newtown handed Weston its lone loss, including both SWC and out-of-conference contests, with a 1-0 win on October 5.

“We had an exceptional game when we beat them and handed them their only loss,” Amblo said.

It was a tall order for Newtown to defeat Weston again, and Amblo felt altering the approach could benefit his team in this game and will help it down the road — in this year’s state playoffs and beyond.

“I’ve got to think about today, I’ve got to think about tomorrow, I’ve got to think about two years from now, and I’ve got to think about five years from now,” said Amblo, whose goal is to change the Newtown program’s style of play to fit the model found in Europe.

Throughout the season, the coaching staff has built on strategies as the players grasp what they are teaching.

Amblo’s approach stems from his days of playing and coaching at all levels, including professionally overseas, where the short-pass, possession game rules. When Newtown has the ball, it is as if the Hawks are playing keep-away. With or without the ball, Newtown has spent some games waiting for its moment to capitalize on an opponent miscue.

The coach has his team members chart passing plays and turnovers during games. The objective is to get the Hawks to cut down on losing the ball on passes going side to side. It is okay for teams to lose the ball when moving it forward, Amblo points out. As they have improved and grasped concepts, new wrinkles have been throw into the playbook.

“The boys have done very well buying into a different way of approaching the game,” said Amblo, adding that it is naturally difficult for high school athletes, particularly 14- and 15-year-olds, to think of winning secondarily.

Amblo puts style of play before wins and losses, emphasizing a way of playing that he believes is the right way to put players in position to be coached, or coach themselves, at different levels down the line.

“We’ve come out on the wrong side of winning and the right side of development, and I was really proud of that,” Amblo said.

“From day one to now, we’ve definitely become a lot better because of the style of play. I think it suits us,” Baillargeon said. “I think with the way he wants us to play, if we execute, we can beat anybody we play.”

Newtown, after all, had beaten both Weston and Barlow — the two teams that ended up in the SWC championship game.

The Hawks have battled a variety of injuries, including one that sent captain and key goal-scorer Riland Limani to the sideline for the remainder of the slate a few weeks back. Despite these setbacks and all of the adjustments to the style of play, the Hawks are progressing nicely, the coach said.

Amblo assesses his team’s improvement and pins a percentage of where his team’s level of development is after games. For the season, a slow and steady climb has gotten the Hawks to 80 percent, he said.

He said championship-level teams are at or above 90 percent, so his squad is getting there.

And so is the program, the coach believes.