Speed and substitutions will be the name of the game for the Newtown High School boys’ soccer team. The Nighthawks have plenty of depth and Coach Ryan Lyddy plans to utilize his bench to keep legs fresh and opponents on their heels this fall.

“The team is going to be very, very fast,” said Lyddy, adding that the style of play will make for a good pace and some entertaining soccer.

Newtown will run a different formation than last year, making use of the overall quickness, and Lyddy said the ability of the players to adjust early in preseason speaks volumes about their soccer knowledge.

Captains are defender/center midfielder Noel McLeod, forward/center midfielder Ryan Payne, and goalkeeper James D’Amico.

Center forward Landon Dorsey, center midfielders Jeff Prout and Jonah Kaiser, strikers Noah Kooper, Manny Adomako, and left midfielder Malakai Ortner are among the returning players who will give Lyddy and his coaching staff options.

“It’s a coach’s dream having something like that,” Lyddy said of the options, particularly on the attack. “We have a lot of finishers up top.”

It won’t just be kick and run quickness. The Nighthawks boast strong possession play, Lyddy said.

Whether or not the Nighthawks’ abilities and depth equates to achieving the goals of winning the South-West Conference and making a deep State Tournament run hinges, in part, on when the Nighthawks are on their ‘A’ game.

“It’s really about peaking at the right time,” said Lyddy, adding that managing injuries — if necessary — also factors into what success the team will have. “Hopefully we can gel at the right time.”

Strong foes in the conference include Brookfield and two-time champion Bethel. The season begins Thursday, September 4, with a visit to Notre Dame Prep in Fairfield at 4 pm. The first home tilt is Tuesday, September 9, when Masuk of Monroe visits Blue & Gold Stadium at 7 pm.

Newtown will test itself against some challenging out-of-conference lineups that, like the Nighthawks, also compete in Class LL, including Fairfield Prep — where Lyddy coached for 17 years, 13 as head coach. Lyddy will face his former team for the first time when Prep visits Saturday, September 13 for a 6 pm contest at Blue & Gold Stadium.

The Nighthawks will also take on Xavier of Middletown, Naugatuck, and South Windsor, the latter of which the Hawks face at Farmington Sports Arena in the Connecticut High School Soccer Challenge on Saturday, September 6 at 5:30 pm.

Sports Editor Andy Hutchison can be reached at andyh@thebee.com.