By Kim J. Harmon

It was a nice end to the regular season.

With a modest 6-3-5 record, the Newtown High School boys’ soccer team was a lot less concerned with seeding in the upcoming South-West Conference tournament than it was finishing the regular season on a strong and positive note.

A 2-0 win over arch-rival Brookfield on Monday night fit the bill perfectly.

“We weren’t looking at (tournament) seeding and we don’t care who we play,” said head coach Brian Neumeyer. “That had nothing to do with it. This is how we wanted to finish up the regular season.”

An own goal in the first half and an insurance goal by Ryan Hudock with 18.3 seconds left to play made as much of a difference in the final outcome as did the effort and play of a tenacious defense that allowed Brookfield few chances.

“Defensively, I think we did a great job,” said coach Neumeyer. “We made some adjustments after (the own goal) and didn’t play as offensively. Brookfield was active, but they didn’t have a lot of dangerous stuff.”

With the win, the Nighthawks finished 7-3-5 overall, 7-2-4 in the SWC, and secured the sixth seed in the postseason tournament. They were scheduled to visit No. 3 New Milford (10-4-1 overall and 9-3-1 in the SWC) on Saturday at 6 pm.

Last week, the locals pounded a struggling Bunnell team, 6-1, as Andrew Meisel notched a pair of goals as Jeff DiNicola and Matt Wright each added a goal and an assist. Connor Collier also scored while George Zaruba notched his first varsity point, an assist.

The ‘Hawks out-shot the Bulldogs, 24-8, and had a modest 3-2 advantage on the corner kicks. Kyle DiNicola earned the win with five saves.

Newtown 2, Brookfield 0

GOALS: Newtown – Ryan Hudock. SHOTS: Brookfield – 12; Newtown – 12. SAVES: Brookfield – Matt Bonn 6; Newtown – Dan Smith 8.

Newtown 6, Bunnell 1

GOALS: Newtown – Andrew Meisel 2, Ryan Hudock, Connor Collier, Jeff DiNicola, Matt Wright; Bunnell – Ryan Schultz. ASSISTS: Newtown – Jeff DiNicola, George Zaruba, Matt Wright. SHOTS: Newtown – 24; Bunnell – 8. SAVES: Newtown – Kyle DiNicola 5; Bunnell – Michael Patria 10. CORNER KICKS: Newtown – 3; Bunnell – 2.

FIELD HOCKEY

Newtown 2, Joel Barlow 0

Newtown 1, Brookfield 0

The theory might have been – whack enough shots on goal and one or two are bound to go in.

Against Joel Barlow last week, a team with just three wins in 13 games this season, the Newtown High School field hockey team struggled for 60 minutes to knock the ball into the cage. Not for lack of trying, though, considering the Lady Nighthawks pounded 24 shots on Falcons goaltender Amanda Macchio.

The goalie made 17 stops, but Hannah Tenenbaum (in the first half) and Renee Solheim (in the second half) both managed to sneak a shot past her to lead the ‘Hawks to a 2-0 win.

It was not only Tenenbaum and Solheim sparking the offense, but Courtney Gleason, Nicole Alberico and Stephanie Paproski, in particular, who had the ‘Hawks streaking past the Barlow defense and inside the circle time after time after time – only to be repeatedly turned away.

Paproski had a brilliant send from near the end line to Solheim in front of the cage for the insurance goal.

Newtown out-shot Barlow, 24-4, and had an 11-2 advantage on penalty corners.

With a 1-0 win over Brookfield on Tuesday, the ‘Hawks improved to 8-2-3 overall and 5-1-2 in the South-West Conference. That puts the locals behind Pomperaug (14-1-0 overall, 7-0-0 in the SWC) and New Milford (9-2-2 overall, 5-2-1 in the SWC) in the Colonial Division and the likely fourth seed in the upcoming conference tournament.

That means a first round home game against an opponent to be determined (but potentially Masuk).

In the win over Brookfield, Paproski notched the game-winner in the 7v7 overtime session. The locals out-shot the Bobcats, 10-8, and had an 8-4 advantage in penalty corners. Newtown goaltender Lisa Isabella made five saves and recorded her eighth shutout of the season.

The ‘Hawks are currently seventh in the CIAC Class L rankings, just behind New Milford, which has dropped two games in a row.

Newtown 2, Joel Barlow 0

GOALS: Newtown – Hannah Tenenbaum, Renee Solheim. ASSISTS: Newtown – Steph Paproski. SHOTS: Newtown – 24; Joel Barlow – 4. SAVES: Newtown – Lisa Isabella 2; Joel Barlow – Amanda Macchio 17. PENALTY CORNERS: Newtown – 11; Joel Barlow – 2.

Newtown 1, Brookfield 0

GOALS: Newtown – Stephanie Paproski. SHOTS: Brookfield – 8; Newtown – 10. SAVES: Brookfield – Karynne Cabral 3, Jackie Mino 6; Newtown – Lisa Isabella 5. PENALTY CORNERS: Brookfield – 4; Newtown – 8.

VOLLEYBALL

Newtown 3, Bunnell 1

Newtown 3, New Milford 1

Newtown 3, Griswold 2

The going got tough and the tough got tougher.

Except for a hiccup or two, the Newtown High School volleyball team all but coasted through its first 14 matches, losing just four games – two of those in one match, against Masuk – while recording 11 sweeps.

But as the 2007 regular season comes to a close, all of a sudden the schedule became much tougher.

The Lady Nighthawks, though, took the opportunity to really prove themselves.

A 3-1 win over Bunnell (29-31, 25-12, 25-9, 25-17), a 3-1 win over New Milford (25-18, 15-25, 25-17, 25-21) and a grueling 3-2 non-conference win (16-25, 25-15, 25-27, 26-24, 17-15) over Griswold helped the ‘Hawks improve to 17-0 overall.

The locals are currently tied for first with Greenwich in the CIAC Class LL rankings.

The win over Bunnell went pretty much the way the non-conference tilt went back on September 11 to open the season. The Lady Bulldogs secured the first game, but then the ‘Hawks grabbed control and surged to the finish.

Morgan Knees had 11 kills while Jordyn Good added 10 kills and seven digs in the win. Sarah Truitt contributed 32 assists and eight digs.

The ‘Dogs, a long-time conference powerhouse, dropped to 8-8 overall and 6-5 in the SWC.

The win over New Milford was particularly tough as the locals had to contend with Danielle Gasser, who had a monster match with 19 digs, 14 assists, 12 kills and six service aces. But after the Green Wave rolled through game #2 to tie the match, 1-1, the ‘Hawks re-asserted themselves and battled for the win.

Knees recorded 12 kills and five blocks while Megan Casey had seven kills, eight digs and three blocks.

It was just the second loss of the season for the Green Wave.

Against the 12-4 Griswold Wolverines on Monday, Casey had a great defensive effort with 26 digs and added nine kills while Emily Loose registered 19 kills, nine digs and six blocks.

All of that set the stage for a Wednesday battle against undefeated Joel Barlow – which will decide who will be the No. 1 seed for the SWC tournament. The Lady Falcons had 12 sweeps to their credit, but in the past couple of weeks were extended to five games by New Fairfield and Masuk.

FOOTBALL

Newtown 35, Bethel 7

Jake DeVellis made up for some lost time and the Newtown High School football team improved to 5-1 with a dominating 35-7 win over winless Bethel last Friday.

After sitting on the bench for virtually two full games following a concussion suffered early in a loss to Stratford back on October 5, DeVellis returned to the field last week at Blue & Gold Stadium and took over.

The junior quarterback rushed for 172 yards and a touchdown and threw for another 132 yards and two more touchdowns as the Nighthawks rolled over the Wildcats.

DeVellis scored on a 52-yard run on the first play from scrimmage, just 21 seconds into the game, and the locals never looked back. Brendan Martin scored on a five-yard run with 5:05 left in the first to put the ‘Hawks up, 14-0.

In the second quarter, DeVellis found Kurt Nacewicz streaking down the left sidelines and hit him for a 52-yard touchdown. Then, with 1:13 left in the half, DeVellis found Bob Lapple all alone in the end zone for a 33-yard touchdown pass and a 28-0 lead.

Newtown was facing a third-and-seven on the play and DeVellis was fixing to keep the ball on a roll out right. He got stopped, initially, and the Bethel defense looked to have the junior bottled up, but he shook off a tackler, found some open space, and – after the Wildcat defensive backs had pulled up – fired the ball down to a lonely Lapple.

That particular drive had been extended thanks to a encroachment penalty on the ‘Cats on a fourth-and-one from the Bethel 40. The ‘Cats hurt themselves even more in the first half when a touchdown was called back on a holding penalty and then, on the ensuing play, they coughed up the ball.

Erik Dreher had an interception, Pat McNulty had a fumble recovery and John Aminti had a big sack, with 15 seconds left in the first half, to aid the defense.

The ‘Hawks eased off the gas in the second half, but after the ‘Cats scored on a Matt Witcofsky run of eight yards, they answered back on a 56-yard run by Jaime Goodwick.

The locals will travel to Stratford on Friday to face an undefeated Bunnell team which out-gunned Joel Barlow, 64-42, last week. The Bulldogs are averaging better than 40 points a game as the second-highest scoring team in the South-West Conference.

The ‘Hawks are currently seventh in the CIAC Class LL rankings with 96.67 points. Shelton is holding on to the fourth slot with 105 points with New Britain and Bridgeport Central in the fifth and sixth slots.

Newtown 35, Bethel 7

First Quarter: Newtown – DeVellis 52 run (Noonan kick); Newtown – Martin 5 run (Noonan kick). Second Quarter: Newtown – Nacewicz 52 pass from DeVellis (Noonan kick); Newtown – Lapple 33 pass from DeVellis (Noonan kick). Fourth Quarter: Bethel – Witcofsky 8 run (Naula kick); Newtown – Goodwick 56 run (Noonan kick).

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing: Bethel – Alex Almonte 20-131, Brandon Farrell 8-74, Matt Witcofsky 12-61, Ryan Fandel 2-6, Dylan Oachs 3-3; Newtown – Jake DeVellis 13-170, Jamie Goodwick 3-59, Gabe Gusti 1-5, Kyle O’Connor 3-4, Brendan Martin 2-3, Kurt Nacewicz 1-3, Brian Reszoly 2-(-7).

Passing: Bethel – Matt Witcofsky 0-for-1; Newtown – Jake DeVellis 6-for-10 for 132 yards, 2 TD.

Receiving: Newtown – Kurt Nacewicz 2-55, Brendan Martin 1-35, Bob Lapple 1-33, Brian Reszoly 2-9.

GIRLS SOCCER

Newtown 3, Bunnell 1

Newtown 1, Brookfield 0

The real battle begins.

After finishing up the regular season undefeated at 14-0-1 with a 3-1 win over Bunnell and 1-0 win over Brookfield, the Newtown High School girls’ soccer team will now look to follow up with its first-ever South-West Conference championship.

Of course, that means somehow getting by either Masuk (12-2-0), Lauralton Hall (11-1-3) and Bethel (10-2-3) again. The locals are 3-0-1 against those three teams with a mere four-goal scoring differential in those games.

Considering that, a sluggish win over Brookfield on Monday to close out the season was a little troubling.

Though the locals out-shot the Lady Bobcats, 24-10, on the day a free kick in the 10 minute by Tania Domingos was the only scoring for a team that has averaged better than three goals a game. It held up, though, as junior goaltender Emily Kluga made four saves and recorded her sixth shutout of the season.

Last week, the ‘Hawks defeated rival Bunnell, 3-1, as Megan Hansen, Domingos and Kasey Schulz all scored. Gabby Nastri and Colleen Thornberg provided the assists while Kluga made seven saves in the net.

The locals are currently tied for first with Cheshire in the CIAC Class LL rankings and are currently ninth in the Region I rankings at NSCAA.adidas.com. The girls will host #8-seeded New Milford on Friday at 7:15 in the SWC quarterfinals.

Newtown 3, Bunnell 1

GOALS: Newtown – Megan Hansen, Tania Domingos, Kasey Schulz; Bunnell – Brittany Smith. ASSISTS: Newtown – Gabby Nastri, Colleen Thornberg; Bunnell – Chelsea Caniero. SAVES: Newtown – Emily Kluga 7; Bunnell – Laura Collins 10.

Newtown 1, Brookfield 0

GOALS: Newtown – Tania Domingos. SHOTS: Newtown – 21; Brookfield – 10. SAVES: Newtown – Emily Kluga 4; Brookfield – Casey Meyers 10. CORNER KICKS: Newtown – 1; Brookfield – 1.