Newtown High School Boys’ Lacrosse Team Rolls Past Notre Dame, Edges Barlow

By Andy Hutchison

The first two games of the season for the Newtown High School’s boys’ lacrosse team couldn’t have been much different and, the good news for the Nighthawks is that the final outcomes couldn’t have been much better for the Hawks.

Newtown toppled a rebuilding Notre Dame-Fairfield team 17-0 on the road April 9, then went to Redding and edged a tough Joel Barlow squad 8-7 on Tuesday.

In the season’s first game, Newtown erupted for eight first-quarter goals then toned things down and coasted to an easy win. Newtown got goals from 11 players, including three from Tim Dalton and two apiece from the sticks of Dan Sclafani, Dylan Huebner, Corey Fisher, and Ryan Korth. Dan Hebert added three assists and Lewis Thompson and Trey Trudell, both of whom found the back of the net once, each added two assists. Sclafani, Hebert, Justin Brophy, and Matt Harrison all logged six ground balls in the triumph.

As lopsided as the win was, first-year coach Glenn Adams did say he wanted to see his players become more tenacious on their rides as they attempt to force turnovers. Adams was pleased to see the Nighthawks convert Notre Dame’s turnovers into scoring opportunities.

“If we can continue to do that all season that’s going to get us a couple potential possessions each game that will turn into, hopefully, goals for us,” Adams said.

In a much tougher test, Newtown built a four-goal halftime lead and fended off the host Falcons. The Hawks jumped out to a 2-0 lead on unassisted goals from Colby Summerlin and Kyle O’Connor. After Barlow cut the lead in half, Newtown went up 3-1 on Zack Dent’s put-away of an O’Connor setup. After Barlow again got to within one, Thompson whipped a shot past keeper Zach Upton for a 4-2 edge. Newtown extended the lead to 5-2 when Huebner fed Dalton for a tally. Summerlin scored again with just three seconds left in the opening half for a 6-2 advantage. In the second half, Dent scored and Thompson set up Brophy with a cross-crease pass as Newtown built an 8-5 lead with two-plus minutes to play in the game.

Dalton scooped up seven ground balls, Huebner had five and Thompson four, and NHS goaltender Brandon Body had 11 saves in the win.

Led by Max Nacewicz who provided tight coverage on Barlow’s key attackman, Newtown played strong defensively. Huebner, Korth, and O’Connor won 61 percent of the faceoffs, with Huebner going 4-for-4 in the fourth quarter when Barlow staged its comeback.