The Newtown High School boys’ lacrosse team beat the Norwalk High School Bears 13-3 at Blue & Gold Stadium on May 13 in a game to benefit the 15 For Life Foundation.

Newtown started off strong with Colby Harrell scoring the first of his four goals with an assist from Marcus Gerace, and by the end of the quarter Newtown was up 7-0. Cole Stockwell scored with three seconds left on the clock.

Newtown Head Coach Tony Fitti felt that the strong start was guided by team play.

“They were unselfish and maintained a team effort from the start; there wasn’t an individual performance for the full game,” Fitti said.

After another successful quarter, Newtown finished the first half up 10-2, with Harrell getting the last two scores, one on an assist with freshman Luke Stewart.

“The guys worked hard and I think we came out with a lot of energy and effort,” Fitti said.

Maintaining the lead, Newtown finished the third quarter up 11-2. In the fourth, Marty Dunn scored with an assist from Sean Riley, and Gavin Doyle concluded the scoring with an assist from Charles Dunn.

Kenna Gioffre gathered three ground ball scoops, Doyle had four and Stites finished off with eight to go along with two goals and an assist.

The team looks to build on this strong performance, as well as a regular season-ending 13-0 win over Notre Dame-Fairfield on May 15 to propel it in the postseason.

“I think we have come a long way as a team this season; we started strong (against Norwalk). I think we need to focus on keeping up the momentum for the rest of the game,” Doyle said.

Against Notre Dame, Marcus Gerace had two goals and five assists. Newtown won all but one faceoff behind a dominating performance from Ben Rosenthal.

Newtown went 9-7 overall and 7-4 in South-West Conference play. The SWC playoffs are scheduled to begin Thursday, May 18; Newtown earned the No. 5 seed and a visit to No. 4 Bethel in the quarterfinals at 5 pm.

The 15 For Life Foundation was founded by the Kavovit family in honor of Robert Kavovit’s battle with silent depression, and their mission is to encourage the community to be more open about mental health, and to help others who may be struggling in silence. At the half, Newtown Youth lacrosse players scrimmaged and the lacrosse teams in town collected funds for the 15 For Life Foundation at this game, the girls’ game earlier in the day, and also junior varsity action.

Deirdre Smith is a Newtown High School junior and an intern for The Newtown Bee.