Coming off a season in which it was dethroned as South-West Conference champions in an SWC Division I tournament semifinal-round loss to New Fairfield, Newtown High School's boys' lacrosse team is striving to get back to the pinnacle.

"We want to win the SWC and try to go as far as we can in states," said Coach Scott Bulkley, whose team posted a 9-7 regular-season mark, edged Fairfield Warde in overtime of a thrilling Class L state tourney qualifying-round contest, then fell to Ridgefield in the first round a year ago.

This year, the SWC did away with its two-division format, grouping all teams back together in the standings and for just one tournament. Tough competition, as always, is expected to come from the likes of New Fairfield, Joel Barlow of Redding, and Weston, Bulkley anticipates.

The Nighthawks lost a handful of starters/regulars from a year ago, but bring plenty of talent back to the field.

This year's captains are midfielders Evan Eggleston and Layton Harrell, and defenders Cayden Dunn and Tyler Rising.

Other key returnees include midfielder Tucker Garrity, defenders Alec Budd and Andre Sokk, and attack players Aiden Coleman and Mark Hall. The Nighthawks will look for the emergence of an new goaltender as Thomas Daigle and Jake Dandrea vie for time between the pipes.

"I think our midfield is strong, really strong. And our defense - a lot of these guys this is their third year starting," Bulkley said.

In addition to those conference rivals are out-of-state tilts with New York teams Mamaroneck, Stepinac, and Briarcliff, all of which visit Blue & Gold Stadium for Saturday battles throughout the spring. Also on the slate are visits to Simsbury, Guilford, and Glastonbury (which won 13 regular-season games and advanced to the Class L semis).

"I always like to get a little out of our comfort zone and play other teams that are good. You see different styles of play and test your lacrosse IQ," Bulkley said.

The season begins Tuesday, April 3, with a visit to Immaculate of Danbury, at 4 pm. Newtown's first home game is Thursday, April 5, when Notre Dame-Fairfield comes to Blue & Gold Stadium for a 7 pm faceoff.