By Kim J. Harmon

Oh boy, there were a whole lot of hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries and cups of Pepsi© doled out last Saturday at the Blue & Gold Stadium Snack Shack (mmmn, Snack Shack) … a lot more than the total number of points (13) scored in about four hours of competition.

In a cool twi-night doubleheader, the boys’ soccer team scored two goals inside the first 2:29 of its game and ended up smashing Immaculate, 5-1, while the football team accumulated just 95 total yards in its game and was blanked by Bethel, 7-0.

It wasn’t a perfect outcome, but it was – in the wake of Hurricane Isabel, oddly enough – a beautiful day.

Tracy Heads

To The Goal

 

In one of the finest individual performances in recent memory, Marcus Tracy scored four goals – three of those off headers – to lead the Nighthawks (3-0-1) easily past the previously unbeaten Mustangs.

The first came about 90 seconds into the game and was made possible by a beautiful indirect kick by Brian Miles. The second came less than a minute later off a perfectly placed corner kick by Rodrigo DeSouza. And the third came (about 20 minutes later, for goodness sake) off a nicely placed pass into the box by Mike Nastri.

It seemed so easy.

Tracy scored his fourth goal of the game with 4:16 left in the first half. After colliding with an Immaculate player at the top of the box, he was awarded a penalty kick and he quickly made good on it, putting the Nighthawks ahead, 4-0.

Just six minutes into the second half, Brian Conroy scored the fifth Newtown goal.

Despite the fine offensive showing (and the fine offensive showings in recent wins over Stratford and Kolbe-Cathedral), head coach Brian Nuemeyer still has some concerns about his young team – offense and defense.

“We still have questions (about the offense),” he said, “but I’m more worried about the defense than anything else right now.”

Although the defense got some terrific kick saves by Nastri and Marc Doherty in backing up goaltender Andrew Fiscella, the late goal allowed to the Mustangs (not to mention the late goal allowed to Kolbe last week) is bothersome.

“I know we can be an explosive team,” said coach Neumeyer. “We have a lot of creative guys on the team and that will come. But at points we lose focus and we can’t lose focus.”

The ‘Hawks were rained out of their SWC battle with Foran on Tuesday and were slated to host Notre Dame on Thursday on the back fields at Newtown High. Games against Pomperaug (in Southbury) and Jonathan Law (at home) will follow next week.

Ground Attack

Stopped Cold

On a dew-slick field, no one was moving the ball last Friday night – although the Bethel High School football team moved it just enough to earn a 7-0 win over Newtown at Blue & Gold Stadium.

The Nighthawks were limited to just 95 totals yards – 77 on the ground and 18 in the air. The Wildcats, on the other hand, were limited to only 114 yards – 89 on the ground and 25 in the air.

Michael Anderson scored the only touchdown of the game with 1:24 left in the first period on a five-yard burst up the middle.

The ‘Hawks rushed for nearly 300 yards in a 15-6 season-opening loss to Stratford, but none of that ability to move the football was in evidence last Friday. Of their 38 rushing plays, 11 went for negative yardage and three resulted in fumbles. Sophomore Marc Ingerman was the most effective player, rushing three times for 40 yards (25 of those on a nicely executed reverse in the waning seconds of the fourth period) and Ben Bagaglio was okay, rushing 11 times for 35 yards.

But the ‘Hawks had a lot of tough numbers to swallow – Bob Pattison rushing just three times for zero yards, John Collins rushing 14 times for minus-10 yards and Kyle Kirch rushing four times for seven yards.

Collins did connect on a couple of pass attempts, hitting Carey Olsen for seven yards and Ingerman for 11.

It was a tough effort and the ‘Hawks were looking to rebound on Thursday against Brookfield. Hopefully, the ‘Hawks will be on a roll heading into their Homecoming Game on Friday, October 3, against Bunnell.

Limping, But On

A Roll

At full strength, there is no question the Newtown High School girls’ soccer team is one of the strongest in the South-West Conference. But even limping, it apparently ain’t so bad.

With a half dozen players hurting – suffering from mild to severe injuries – the Lady Nighthawks (ranked ninth in Connecticut) still had enough last Saturday to earn a 1-1 tie with Immaculate (ranked eighth) to run their record to 4-0-1.

Mary Anders (concussion), Tara Gaston (groin), Becky Corrigan (broken foot), and Kristy Nowak (back) were really hurting while Alex Konnecker and Rachel Vontobel also had problems to deal with.

A walking M*A*S*H unit – and so, a 1-1 tie against one of the top teams in the state coming just two days after a convincing 4-0 win over arch-rival Lauralton Hall is not bad at all.

“The kids left it all on the field,” said head coach Rupert De Los Reyes. “The win over Hall was a great win and a tie against Immaculate is nothing to be ashamed of. But the bottom line is, we have got to get healthy.”

Vontobel scored the lone Newtown goal off an assist from Gaston. The ‘Hawks were also sparked by the play of Kyla Miles, who showed coach de los Reyes the kind of ability she possesses. There were just 16 shots in the whole game, with Kim Allen making six saves for the Lady Nighthawks and Nicole Weiss making eight saves for the Lady Mustangs.

In the win over archrival Lauralton Hall, Konnecker had a goal and two assists while Chelsea Morin and Casey Frobey had a goal and an assist apiece. Kelly Corrigan chipped in with a goal as the ‘Hawks unleashed 18 shots on net.

“Hall was a great win,” said coach de los Reyes. “This is one of our best starts and the girls are showing a lot of confidence. We’re finally getting to the point where everyone understands the system.”

The ‘Hawks were rained out of their Tuesday afternoon game with Foran and were slated to visit Notre Dame on Wednesday. Games against Pomperaug (at home) and Jonathan Law (in Milford) will follow next week.

A Penalty Stroke,

A Tie

 

Amanda Hadgraft scored two goals – the second with just one minute left to play in regulation – to lift the Newtown High School field hockey team into a dramatic 2-2 tie with Masuk on Tuesday.

The Lady Panthers took a 2-0 lead in the first half and that could have been enough to drop the Lady Nighthawks into a funk, but Hadgraft responded just a couple of minutes after that second goal to start the rally.

“In the past we would have gotten down,” said Hadgraft, “but we’re focusing on staying positive and keeping everyone up. With our stick skills, we know we could have won the game.”

Yes, they could have … with just a little luck.

The offense kept the pressure up on the Masuk goal and had several great scoring opportunities. With a minute left to play, the Masuk goaltender attempted to stop a shot in the circle and fell on the ball.

The referees awarded a penalty stroke to Newtown and Hadgraft confidently stepped up to the ball and flicked it home. The goalie did get a piece of the ball, just not enough to stop it from rolling into the cage.

A 10-minute overtime was dominated by Newtown, but the game still ended in a draw.

“We were hoping to win,” said Hadgraft. “But a tie is fine. It’s a lot better than a loss.”

The ‘Hawks got a wonderful effort from Meg Regnery, who worked tirelessly up and down the field. Collette Naglieri registered the assist on the first Hadgraft goal and netminder Jenny Urfer made some critical stops – one on a penalty stroke – to secure the tie.

The ‘Hawks traveled to Brookfield on Thursday and Pomperaug on Monday (in a game postponed from Tuesday, September 23) and will host Joel Barlow on Tuesday, under the lights at Blue & Gold Stadium. A visit to Weston will follow on Thursday, October 2.

Just A Dip In

The Pool

 

A tri-meet can be a bit of a headache for the coaches and the scorekeepers, but a tri-meet with Foran and New Fairfield last week provided the Newtown High School swim team a chance to rack up a pair of easy wins.

The Lady Nighthawks cruised to a 120-68 win over the Lady Rebels and a 139-37 win over the Lady Lions and with those two results the ‘Hawks were able to push their record to 4-0.

Against New Fairfield, Amy Robinson (50 and 100 free), Abby Atkinson (200 individual medley and 100 breast) and Maggie Hemingway (200 and 500 free) were double winners. Kim Mayers (diving), Jen Iassogna (100 butterfly), Maggie Hemingway (500 freestyle) and Maricate Conlon (100 backstroke) were all individual winners. The 200- and 400-yard freestyle relay teams (Sarah Truckle, Alex Hoolehan, Kaitlyn Murphy and Taylor in the 200 and Robinson, Sally Tabler, Hemingway and Atkinson in the 400) were also winners.

Against Foran, the ‘Hawks jumped out to a huge lead by finishing 1-2-3 in the 200-yard medley relay (the foursome of Conlon, Atkinson, Jen Cupero and Robinson came in first). The ‘Hawks then swept the 200 freestyle, 200 individual medley and 50 freestyle. All of the winners – individual and otherwise – were pretty much the same.

The ‘Hawks were still in fine form on Tuesday, pounding Stratford xxx-xx…….

Net Girls Spiked

At End

The Newtown High School volleyball team had the opportunity to put Pomperaug away on Monday night – but never got around to it.

And thus, the Lady Panthers were able to pin a disappointing 25-20, 21-25, 25-13, 22-25, 12-15 loss on the Lady Nighthawks, who dropped to 1-5 overall, 1-2 in the South-West Conference. The ‘Hawks had picked up their first win of the season last week against Stratford.

It was an inconsistent effort, at best. After taking Game 1, 25-20, the ‘Hawks fell into a 6-1 hole in Game 2 before they started to make a little noise. A block by Lisa Morgan and three aces by Stephanie Logan got the ‘Hawks started and a block by Diana Grimaldi gave them their first lead.

That momentum faded, though, and while the two teams remained close (despite three kills by Logan and a kill and ace by Paula Wickman) the Lady Panthers began pulling away and secured a 25-21 win.

But that didn’t slow the ‘Hawks down. With Jenna Van Waalwijk recording two kills and an ace, Logan recording four kills and an ace and Morgan nailing down two consecutive aces, the ‘Hawks cruised to a 25-13 win in Game 3.

That was about all the good fortune the ‘Hawks could muster. The Lady Panthers took the lead early in Game 4 and never relinquished it (winning 25-22) and then rallied back from a three-point deficit in Game 5 to capture the match.

Logan finished with 16 kills, three blocks and seven aces. Grimaldi chipped in with nine kills and seven digs.

In the win over Stratford, Logan had seven kills, five aces and two blocks while Morgan chipped in with a pair of aces, a pair of blocks and 14 assists. Wickman added three kills and four aces as the ‘Hawks swept their way to a 25-15, 25-10, 25-20 win.

The ‘Hawks hosted Joel Barlow on Wednesday and Weston on Thursday and will return to the court on Monday to face Brookfield (in Brookfield). The ‘Hawks will then host New Fairfield on Wednesday, October 1, and Notre Dame on Friday, October 3.

X-C Men 5th

In Bethel

Despite have just one runner finish in the top 20, the Newtown High School boys’ cross country team still finished fifth at the annual Bethel Invitational last Saturday.

Peter Dittmar finished 15th at 17:04, just 1:38 off the winning pace set by Combs of Griswold. Phil Zencey finished 22nd at 17:24 and he was followed in by Alister Ratcliff (31st at 17:52), Chris DeRoo (37th at 18:05), Jay Schunter (41st at 18:19), Doug Bonjour (42nd at 18:22) and Jake Sullivan (60th at 19:09).

“The positive thing is,” said head coach Rich Pesce, “if you take the non-conference teams out we finished second to New Milford.”

The freshman team had another good meet, taking first (unofficially) in Bethel. Charlie Baldour, who took first and led the ‘Hawks to a first-place finish at the Wilton Invitational a couple weeks ago, finished second overall in the race.

The Nighthawks traveled to Milford on Wednesday to take on Foran, Masuk and Weston and will now host New Fairfield, Notre Dame and Brookfield on Tuesday, September 30.