Newtown High School Week In Review

By Kim J. Harmon

Down … to … the … wire.

With a CIAC Class LL quarterfinal boys’ soccer game decided in the final 17 seconds of regulation, with a CIAC Class LL quarterfinal girls’ soccer game decided in the final 1:08 of double overtime, and with a CIAC Class L swim meet decided by only 31 points things just couldn’t get much closer, much tighter, much more tense than they did this past week for Newtown High School.

The boys’ soccer team was looking at overtime in its Class LL tilt with Manchester on Monday when Brian Miles served up a perfect cross to Marcus Tracy for the game winner with 17 seconds left.

The girls’ soccer team was looking at penalty kicks when Casey Frobey spun through two defenders and nailed the game winner with 1:08 left in double overtime.

And the swim team came within 31 points of ousting powerhouse Ridgefield in the Class L championships on Tuesday and held off powerful Amity Regional to finish second by only one point.

Read on –

BOYS SOCCER

Newtown 2, Manchester 1; Newtown 1, Glastonbury 0

It could be the most dramatic, most exciting, most significant goal in Newtown High School boys’ soccer history – and while there are those who would argue those points, there’s no question it will be remembered for some time to come.

With fewer than 30 seconds left in regulation and the CIAC Class LL quarterfinal match between Newtown and Manchester all knotted up at 1-1, senior midfielder Brian Miles set himself for, perhaps, the biggest direct kick of his career.

From 30 yards out – facing an option of firing a shot on goal, popping one up into the box, or lacing something lower and stronger – Miles ripped a tailing cross that just avoided the out-stretched arms of Manchester goaltender John Wyman and found the foot of senior striker Marcus Tracy, who one-touched the ball into the net and sent the Nighthawks on to the semifinals.

“It was not a good angle for a shot,” said Miles, “and that goalie – he played great – is great in the air. I wanted to get something behind the wall because there was a better chance to do something. It’s been six years and that’s the most dramatic serve I’ve made to (Tracy).”

The win boosted the ‘Hawks to 20-1 overall and set the stage for a meeting with No. 7-ranked Staples on Wednesday night at Danbury High School.

As dramatic as the finish was, that’s how stunning the opening was. With just 5:07 gone in the first half, Kevin Werbner put the Indians on top, 1-0, with a hard shot to the far post and presented the ‘Hawks with only the second deficit they have faced all year.

And it could have gotten worse because in the 22nd minute goaltender Adam Drummond came up with a pair of stops that in all likelihood saved the season.

“Adam really held on for us,” said head coach Brian Neumeyer. “He’s been terrific for us throughout the playoffs.”

Then with 17:19 left to play, Tracy corralled a rebound off a corner kick taken by Rodrigo DeSouza, spun and fired a ball to the back of the net to tie the score at 1-1.

From there, the ‘Hawks seemed to clamp down and control the game and ended up out-shooting the Indians, 12-5. Eight minutes Tracy tied the score, Miles had his first chance to put the ‘Hawks on top and drilled a laser shot off the cross bar.

Tracy hit a post, himself, in the second half as the ‘Hawks kept the pressure on.

“We kept the pressure on them,” said coach Neumeyer, “and we created some better opportunities to score.”

And the last opportunity came with 17 seconds left to play.

The ‘Hawks advanced to the quarterfinals last week with a scrappy, 1-0, win over Glastonbury. Kevin Quinn scored the lone goal off an assist from Tracy. It was Quinn’s second goal of the season (he also scored in a 4-1 win over Masuk back on September 22).

Newtown 2, Manchester 1

GOALS: Newtown – Marcus Tracy 2; Manchester – Kevin Werbner. ASSISTS: Newtown – Rodrigo DeSouza, Brian Miles; Manchester – James McConville. SHOTS: Newtown – 12; Manchester – 5. SAVES: Newtown – Adam Drummond 3; Manchester – John Wyman 5.

Newtown 1, Glastonbury 0

GOALS: Newtown – Kevin Quinn. ASSISTS: Newtown – Marcus Tracy. SHOTS: Newtown – 9; Glastonbury – 4. SAVES: Newtown – Adam Drummond 1; Glastonbury – Tim Olah 3.

GIRLS SOCCER

Newtown 1, Amity 0; Newtown 2, Hall 1

With the way it dominated play, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that the Newtown High School girls’ soccer team would score a goal and defeat Amity Regional in its CIAC Class LL quarterfinal match on Monday night.

The coach knew it.

The players knew it.

The fans knew it.

Somehow, though, that goal just wouldn’t come – not once in two dozen shots on the net – and with 1:08 left in double overtime the Lady Nighthawks were facing the very real, very unsettling prospect of the game going into penalty kicks.

But then Casey Frobey took care of everything.

With her back to the net, the junior striker fielded a pass in the box and somehow spun between two Amity defenders and drilled a high shot past goaltender Ali Horwitz and sent the No.3-ranked Nighthawks on to the semifinals Thursday night against No. 10-ranked Mercy at Willowbrook Park in New Britain.

“I just had a feeling we would bang one home,” said head coach Rupert de los Reyes. “I was looking for anything to happen in the last few seconds.”

The goal came as a relief to a team that had dominated the game right from the opening tap. The ‘Hawks could have taken a 1-0 lead within the first three minutes, but were unable to finish on a breakaway. And that kind of thing would hamper the ‘Hawks for the next 95 minutes before Frobey nailed down the gamewinner.

“It was so frustrating,” said de los Reyes, “but what can you say? The girls were doing what they needed to do. The build up was great, but it just didn’t happen. But they out-worked (Amity), they wanted it more and they should be proud of themselves.”

As the offense struggled to score, the defense – especially Gabby Nastri, Kyla Miles and Kristi Nowak, who were just splendid in the back – absolutely shut the Lady Spartans down. Tara Gaston, Stacy Shpunt and Sara Peters also played well and goaltender Ashley LaRocque made three keys saves.

“Our defense was awesome,” said coach de los Reyes. “I can’t say enough about them. They were huge in OT.”

The ‘Hawks, who had received a first-round bye, earned their trip to the quarterfinals with a 2-1 second-round win over Hall of West Hartford last week. Mary Anders and Frobey scored the goals while Alex Konneker and Colleen Thornberg registered the assists.

The Newtown defense limited Hall to just two shots.

Newtown 1, Amity 0

GOALS: Newtown – Casey Frobey. SHOTS: Newtown – 25; Amity – 3. SAVES: Newtown – Ashley LaRocque 2; Amity – Ali Horwitz 23.

Newtown 2, Hall 1

GOALS: Newtown – Mary Anders, Casey Frobey; Hall – Camila Gielle. ASSISTS: Newtown – Alex Konneker, Colleen Thornberg. SHOTS: Newtown – 12; Hall – 2.

SWIMMING

CIAC Class L championships

The path to a CIAC Class L state championship became a little easier for the Newtown High School swim team when Cheshire – the perennial powerhouse – bumped up to LL. But the Lady Nighthawks knew last week, even as they continued to savor their South-West Conference championship, that they still had to contend with Ridgefield and Amity Regional.

And in the end, it was Ridgefield claiming the CIAC Class L title – but it was the Lady Nighthawks taking second just ahead (one point) of Amity Regional.

“It’s unbelievable,” said head coach Mary Atkinson. “We were top six last year and hoping to finish top four this year. We never thought we could beat Amity, but the kids swam their hearts out. They deserve it.”

Abby Atkinson grabbed a pair of second-place finishes in the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke (both in school-record times) while Kim Mayers – in the diving portion of the meet last week at the Cornerstone in West Hartford – finished second overall, just five points behind Megan Barrett of Farmington.

Meanwhile, the 200 medley relay of Maricate Conlon, Atkinson, Sally Tabler and Jaclyn Van Waalwijk started off the swimming portion of the championships by finishing fifth overall and re-breaking their own week-old record. It started at 1:57.92 (which was set in 1995), then it dipped to 1:56.80 and now resides at 1:55.59.

Down the line:

200 freestyle – Maggie Hemingway then grabbed a fifth-place finish at 2:02.95, a little over six seconds off the pace set by Alexandra Lovallo of Ridgefield. Jen Iassogna was 18th overall at 2:09.23.

200 individual medley – Atkinson was second at 2:12.19, less than two seconds behind Barbara McHale of Ridgefield. Tabler finished sixth overall at 2:17.79 while Emma Atkinson finished 13th at 2:24.86.

50 freestyle – Van Waalwijk (14th – 26.36) and Amy Robinson (16th – 26.76) had strong finishes, but were up against some tough competition and were well behind the pace set by Rachel Kent of Fitch (23.91).

Diving – With Mayers finishing second by only five points, the ‘Hawks also got great showings from Melissa Metzger (7th – 300.95), Shannon Kennedy (9th – 289.10) and Tierney Carey (15th – 245.55).

100 butterfly – Conlon finished ninth overall at 1:03.21, a little more than four seconds off the pace set by Lindsey Sherman of Amity Regional. Tabler (11th – 1:03.99), Dana Taylor (16th – 1:07.76) and Carol Ann Smith (24th – 1:09.64) also scored.

100 freestyle – Kent of Fitch took first in a blazing 52.58 while Van Waalwijk (11th – 57.30), Robinson (12th – 57.44) and Liz Gugino (20th – 58.68) had to be content with strong finishes, but middle-of-the-road points.

500 freestyle – Iassogna (10th – 5:44.55) and Sarah Harmonay (12th – 5:50.40) had solid finishes.

200 freestyle relay – The foursome of Robinson, Gugino, Van Waalwijk and Hemingway finished sixth overall at 1:45.34.

100 backstroke – Conlon and Smith went 1-2 in the 100 backstroke at the SWC championships and finished back-to-back again. But Conlon (1:02.44) and Smith (1:03.75) had to settle for fourth and fifth as Erin McLaughlin of Amity Regional set the pace at a blistering 58.16.

100 breaststroke – Atkinson grabbed another second-place finish at 1:09.30, less than two seconds behind Cydney Eidh of Staples. Hemingway (6th – 1:11.87), Jessica Remitz (17th – 1:15.35) and Emma Atkinson (20th – 1:15.84) also performed very well.

400 freestyle relay – The ‘Hawks capped off a tremendous meet with a third-place finish. The foursome of Robinson, Tabler, Hemingway and Atkinson came in at 3:45.52, a little over six seconds behind Amity Regional.

The top 24 swimmers in each event from all the classes will move on to the CIAC State Opens and whole Atkinson is assured of being there in the 200 IM and 100 breast, the ‘Hawks should see several other swimmers qualify as well but coach Atkinson was still waiting results from the Class LL meet on Wednesday.

The Opens will be Friday and Saturday, November 19 and 20, at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven.

FOOTBALL

Newtown 35, New Milford 15

Six plays.

Yes, just six plays is all the Newtown High School football team needed to take a 21-0 first quarter lead over New Milford last Saturday night in the annual Boot Trophy game – a lead which soon turned into a 35-15 win.

The ‘Hawks were as opportunistic as they could get.

New Milford opened with the ball and took four minutes off the clock before a fumble turned into a 91-yard touchdown return by John Collins.

Another minute was carved off the clock before a second New Milford fumble turned into a 44-yard touchdown return by Bob Pattison.

And another 6:30 was taken off the clock before a big fourth-down sack by Wisconsin-bound Dan Cascone set the ‘Hawks up deep in Green Wave territory, giving Joe DeVellis the opportunity to race 29 yards on the next play from scrimmage to give the ‘Hawks a 21-0 lead.

Although it presented Newtown with some golden opportunities to score, New Milford moved the chains. The Green Wave – dedicating their performance to teammate Joe South who was killed in a car accident the weekend before – challenged the Nighthawk defense and managed 155 yards on the ground and 115 yards through the air.

But after two fumbles and an interception on the Newtown one-yard line foiled their attempts to get into the end zone, New Milford finally scored on a 30-yard field goal by Jamie Pisano with 4:04 left to play in the first half.

In the third quarter, Pattison put the ‘Hawks ahead, 28-3, with a three-yard push up the middle.

But the game was not yet in hand as the Green Wave made a big push in the last 3:44 of the period. It started with a pass from Kevin Oberg that was tipped at the goal line and into the hands of TJ Knapp for the touchdown and finished just 35 seconds later with a seven-yard touchdown run by Matt Clady.

The Wave was driving towards the end zone again late in the period, but Pattison came up with an interception to stall the drive. That allowed the ‘Hawks to turn it around and – in the fourth period – scored on a nine-yard sweep by Pattison. The big play in the drive was an 18-yard strike from quarterback Tucker Kass to wideout Brendan O’Connor.

“We had some plays go wrong and some people play poorly, but we turned it around,” head coach Ken Roberts said after the game. “A football game is four quarters – not one.”

The ‘Hawks finished with 119 yards rushing and 171 yards of total offense. It was enough to earn the win, though, which boosted the Nighthawks’ record to 5-2-1 with two games left on the schedule – Bullard Havens on Friday, November 19 (usually an off week) and Masuk on Wednesday, November 24, in the traditional Thanksgiving matchup.

Newtown 35, New Milford 15

First quarter: Newtown – John Collins 91 fumble return (Steve Kean kick); Newtown – Bob Pattison 44 fumble return (Kean kick); Newtown – Joey DeVellis 29 run (Kean kick). Second quarter: New Milford – Jamie Pisano 30 FG. Third quarter: Newtown – Bob Pattison 3 run (Kean kick); New Milford – Kevin Oberg 19 pass to TJ Knapp (run failed); New Milford – Matt Clady 7 run (pass failed). Fourth quarter: Newtown – Bob Pattison 9 run (Kean kick).

Individual Statistics

Rushing: Newtown – Bobby Pattison 15-73, Joey DeVellis 7-36, Roy Schuenemann 5-20, Brian Poeltl 5-10, John Collins 1-0, Tucker Kass 4-minus 10; New Milford – CJ Creighton 19-91, Matt Clady 8-64, Kevin Oberg 8-minus 9. Passing: Newtown – Tucker Kass 4-11-2 for 52 yards; New Milford – Kevin Oberg 10-22-2 for 115 yards. Receiving: Newtown – Brendan O’Connor 1-23, Brennan Coakley 1-16, John Collins 1-9, Marc Ingerman 1-4; New Milford – Knapp 6-82, Pat Hendricks 2-36, CJ Creighton 1-1, Matt Clady 1-minus 4.

VOLLEYBALL

Trumbull 3, Newtown 1

They did not do down without a fight.

Down 2-0 and on the brink of elimination in a CIAC Class LL second-round match with Trumbull, the Newtown High School volleyball team dug in its heels (as much as it could on a polished gymnasium floor) and fought hard until the end.

That end came in a 3-1 loss (20-25, 16-25, 25-23, 16-15) loss to the Lady Eagles last Wednesday.

“That third game showed a lot of character,” said head coach Tom Czaplinski. “They came in nervous and tried to do too much too early. But they didn’t go down without a fight.”

The Lady Nighthawks were up against the No. 5-ranked team in Class LL and had a lot of trouble contending with the hitting power of players like Tori Flynn and Caitlin Holmberg and although the ‘Hawks kept things fairly close, the Eagles seemed to be in no danger.

In Game 3, though, the ‘Hawks stood their ground. After a Diana Grimaldi ace, the ‘Hawks had their first lead of the entire match and built that lead up to 8-3 with a Paula Wickman block and Jenna Van Waalwijk kill.

The Eagles fought back and regained the lead, 17-16, but a four-point rally – highlight by two aces from Wickman – gave the ‘Hawks the 25-23 win and kept their season alive.

It served as a wakeup call for the Eagles, though, who exploded out of the gate in the fourth game to take a 6-0 lead. The ‘Hawks fought back and kept things close and were down only 16-10 when the Eagles went on an 8-4 run to take a 24-14 lead.

A Wickman kill was the last gasp for the ‘Hawks before Trumbull put the match away.

The ‘Hawks – who opened the year with seven wins in their first eight matches – finished 12-7 and will have a solid core returning to the floor in 2005, led by Diana Grimaldi, Becky Huot, Jenna Van Waalwijk, Miranda Rucinski and Jill Logan.

FIELD HOCKEY

Simsbury 3, Newtown 2

After a thrilling ride in the South-West Conference tournament, the Newtown High School field hockey saw its 2004 season come to a quiet end in the first round of the CIAC Class L state tournament with a 3-2 loss to Simsbury.

The loss dropped the Lady Nighthawks to 11-7-0-2 overall ... which is a school record for wins in a single season.

Lauren Albergo scored twice (the second on with just three minutes left) to lift Simsbury to the win.