A pair of concussions, a knee injury, two wrist injuries, a torn ACL - the list goes on.

Injuries piled up from preseason through the regular campaign for Newtown High School's boys' lacrosse team this spring. The Nighthawks endured seven player injuries and lost a trio of other players for various reasons, leaving a lot of voids to be filled.

Sound like a season of struggles against tough opponents?

Not so fast.

Despite the many setbacks, Newtown went a glossy 13-3 in the regular season; the only defeats came to a pair of New York schools and eventual South-West Conference and Class M state champion, New Fairfield. Newtown reached the South-West Conference championship game as the tourney's No. 2 seed, again falling to New Fairfield, which, by the way, never lost a game this year.

In the Class L state tournament, the Hawks were also a No. 2 seed, and after beating Cheshire 14-10 in the opening round, fell 9-8 in overtime in the quarterfinals to a No. 10 Glastonbury team they had beaten during the regular slate.

At given times, there were as many as five freshmen on the field at once. Freshman goaltender Jake Dandrea and freshman Jeff Garrity were going to be starters/regulars from the get-go, but freshmen Michael Haddick, Shaine Luzietti, and Brandon Manka all were called upon regularly.

In addition to these first-year high school students, sophomores Kyle Shirk, a standout defender who shut down top opposing scoring threats, along with Brett Pierce, Kyle Sullivan, Patrick Grover, and Jack Kuligowski all stepped up perhaps more than they expected.

"I've never had to ask so much from so many young kids," Newtown Coach Bulkley said. "They really wanted to work so hard for the senior class because those guys were really such great mentors for them. It really was more like a family. These guys really did wrap their arms around them."

Evan Eggleston, a senior captain, recognized that the mental part can be tough on a freshman taking on such a significant role, and doing so with upperclassmen opponents standing in their way.

"As captains, we had to step up and guide them ... and make it an easy transition for them," Eggleston said of the efforts he and fellow captains Cayden Dunn, Layton Harrell, and Tyler Rising put forth.

The injuries could have had a negative impact on the squad, yet they seemed almost to have a positive influence on the players.

"It transformed the way our team looked at each other and played for each other," Bulkley said.

"We never made an excuse. Our mantra this season was 'Next Up,'" Bulkley said. "And they really did step up."

The team had wrist bands made that read "Next Up," and practice shirts for the playoffs, also with the motivating phrase.

In a 10-7 win over Glastonbury on April 28, all of the freshmen played a majority of the game, Bulkley noted.

"Never did they back down, never did they complain," the coach said of young players routinely going up against bigger opponents.

"I was scared to put them in because there were bigger teams," Bulkley said. "The fear was because they're so inexperienced that I don't want to ruin them going forward," he said.

Bulkley said the average freshman is probably giving up 20 to 30 pounds and two to three inches to the average senior. "That's a lot. And obviously strength - an 18-year-old kid is bigger, stronger, faster than a 15-year-old kid," the coach said.

"They knew their roles," said Bulkley, adding that the young players impressed him by not trying to do more than was asked of them, allowing the veterans to carry a bulk of the responsibilities during the games.

"I'm so proud. I'm not sure I've ever been prouder of a team. With all the adversity, they never complained," Bulkley said. "To be ranked second in Class L, that's pretty impressive."

In addition to these players potentially coming back with varsity playing experience under their belts, sophomore Will Swierbut is among those who is expected back after suffering an injury this year.

"I don't think you can quantify the experience they got. It's going to be huge for us going forward," Bulkley said. "They've grown so much, both mentally and physically."