Boys Fall To Newtown In Quarterfinal Match

Entering Saturday's South-West Conference quarterfinal game against Brookfield, Newtown High School's boys lacrosse team had its share of motivation.

Not only was a trip to the tournament semifinals at stake for the defending conference champions, but they were just 12 days removed from a heartbreaking 4-3 loss at home to Brookfield.

The painful memory still lingered.

"Obviously the guys had that in the back of their mind that last time we thought we didn't play our best, and [Brookfield] ended up coming in and celebrating on our field," Newtown coach Glenn Adams said. "We wanted to make sure we came out and didn't leave anything on the field this time."

As it turned out this time, the Nighthawks took a convincing victory.

Third-seeded Newtown jumped to a 6-1 lead at the end of the first quarter and never looked back, cruising to a 13-5 win over Brookfield at Blue and Gold Stadium.

"That was probably the most complete I've seen the team play all year," Adams said. "We had every single facet. We had our defense playing physical, offense was moving the ball well, and between the lines too, we were riding the ball well, and clearing the ball extremely well."

After Brookfield attackman Matt Bonavita scored just 1:40 into the first quarter to give the sixth-seeded Bobcats a 1-0 lead, Newtown's Lewis Thompson responded with a goal just 1:42 later.

The tally tied the score 1-1, and marked the start of a string of six unanswered Newtown goals.

Thompson scored for the second time on the afternoon with 2:22 remaining in the first quarter and midfielder Colby Summerlin followed with a goal to give Newtown a commanding 6-1 lead after just 12 minutes.

"We knew it was playoff time and it was either 'win or go home,'" Newtown goalie Brandon Body said. "So we came ready to play and we came out firing right from the beginning,"

Newtown's (12-5, 9-3 SWC) lead ballooned to 8-2 entering halftime, as Summerlin and midfielder Ryan Korth added goals late in the second quarter.

The Nighthawks held the advantage in nearly every statistical category, as they won 16 of 20 face-offs, and held a 39-24 advantage in ground balls. They also out-shot the Bobcats 23-21.

"We got out-played. It's as simple as that," Brookfield coach Tim Oelgoetz said. "We came in flat, and a little over-confident since we won our last game, and Newtown took advantage of that."

In the third quarter, Brookfield (11-6, 8-4) failed to turn around its slow start. After Newtown attackman Dan Hebert scored just one minute into the half, Tim Dalton added the second of his team-high three goals to give Newtown its largest lead of the afternoon, 10-2.

It was just the second time in the last five games that Newtown broke double digits in goals. Adams attributed the success on offense to patience.

Newtown also received a stellar effort in net from Body, who made 12 saves.

While Brookfield now awaits the Class M state tournament, Newtown will play in the SWC semifinals, which begin Wednesday in Weston.

Adams said Newtown has the potential to be a "scary team" if it continued to deliver the complete effort displayed in Saturday's win. But, he also reminded the players that the margin for error in the playoffs can be slim.

"Again, if we lose, there's no tomorrow," Adams said. "That's what I'm trying to get across to the guys, and I think they're starting to realize that."

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