By Steve Bigham

It’s never easy to rank the all-time best teams at Newtown High School. To say this team is better than that is difficult to prove.

But it would be hard to argue against the undefeated 2001 boys’ soccer team. At 11-0, this group has now outscored its opponents 59-2 and finds itself ranked eighth in The Hartford Courant state poll. No doubt, that ranking will move up this week thanks to four more convincing wins over the past seven days. The new poll was scheduled to come out Thursday (after press time).

The Nighthawks notched their 11th win Tuesday night with a jaw-dropping, crowd-pleasing 5-0 shutout over Masuk under the lights at Blue & Gold Stadium. In that game, junior Mike Troy scored his 29th and 30th goals of the season and junior Ryan Tracy scored his 17th, 18th and 19th goals of the year.

Troy’s total is now an all-time single season record and Tracy’s is well on its way. That single-season goal record had belonged to John Ball, who scored 25 back in 1990.

As for the rest of the Newtown team, well, there aren’t all that many tangible numbers to rate them among the all-time best, but take our word for it, they’re about as good as it gets.

Defensively, sweeper Colin Armstrong heads up a crew that swallows up the few attacks opponents manage to mount. As for the few that have gotten close, they get gobbled up by all-state goalie Matt Pachniuk – Newtown’s last line of defense. At the midfield, guys like Jake Rouse and Ian Walker help make it all possible, dominating the ball control and feeding the scorers with pinpoint passes.

It all adds up to one of the finest teams Newtown High School has ever put uniforms on. At the helm of this machine is fourth-year coach Brian Neumeyer, the mastermind behind the show.

“We just have a ton of speed. We’ve got good composure in the midfield and our back is really solid, and our goalkeeper is the best in the state, too. Really we don’t have a weak spot or an Achilles Heel. We haven’t seen it yet, if we do have one,” said Neumeyer, who currently holds a career record at Newtown of 50-13-6.

Granted, the South West Conference appears to be down somewhat, but that certainly does not take away from what Newtown has done. In fact, the Nighthawks are pummeling teams to the point where they just seem weak. Newtown has worked hard to maintain its intensity, even against the lesser teams. Neumeyer knows everyone is gunning for his club and he instills in his players the mindset to never let down.

On Monday, Newtown trounced Stratford, 8-0, at home as Troy scored four goals (one assist) and Ryan Tracy had three (two assists). Freshman Marcus Tracy, another huge bright spot, added a goal and two assists, while Derek Miles had two assists and Ryan Keogler added one. All 8 Newtown goals were scored in the first half.

 Newtown defeated Weston, 6-0, on the road last Friday afternoon behind two goals each from Troy and Ryan Tracy. Marcus Tracy also scored as did Keogler. Troy also added three assists.

Newtown also made quick work of Foran last Thursday in Milford, winning, 6-0. Troy recorded yet another hat trick and Ryan Tracy added two goals and two assists. Sean Wilson also scored for the winners.

Against Masuk, Troy and Tracy put on an impressive display of talent. On one play, Ryan took a feed from Walker, did a reverse spin move, then blasted a “banana” shot past the Masuk goalie from 25 yards out. Tracy scored again moments later after knocking home a bullet off the cross bar by Troy.

Troy’s powerful foot is almost as impressive as his ability to maneuver the ball between defenders. He somehow manages to wheel and deal his way inside, then rips shots past goalies with precision.

“Ryan’s really playing a big part in this. He’s really been opening it up and our midfield is getting the ball. Plus the defense is pretty solid, too,” said Troy, who admits he never expected to put up these kinds of numbers.