Boys’ Booters Look For Smarts And Hard Work Carry Them

By Andy Hutchison

Newtown High School’s boys’ soccer team will not rely on sheer talent to achieve the usual goals of qualifying for the conference and state playoffs and challenging for titles, coach Brian Neumeyer said.

“I think it’s a smart team — a hardworking team,” the coach said. “We’ve got to have them play real intelligent soccer to get our results. It’s not going to come from pure athleticism.”

Neumeyer says this team may not have any stars per say, but is one of the best teams he has coached from a personality standpoint.

“Our program is right where we want it to be,” said Neumeyer, alluding to the mixture of young, up-and-coming players and veterans who can carry the Hawks back into the playoffs.

The senior captains are goalkeeper Ishan Tatake, and midfielders Josh Engler and Hank Helgren. Other key players who bring experience back to the pitch are junior midfielders Josh Barrett and Ryan Dunnigan, along with senior forward Andre Capozziello.

The team lost eight starters/regulars from a season ago, so Neumeyer will rely on several younger players to step up in 2010.

Hustle stands to be a strength of this team. “We’re really competitive in practice. We push each other really hard,” Tatake said.

Neumeyer wants to see the team improve as the season unfolds, to a point the Hawks are at their best come playoff time.

“Our goal is not to peak early. We want to consistently improve throughout the year,” he said.

Newtown’s toughest competition stands to come from Pomperaug of Southbury, Joel Barlow of Redding, Brookfield, New Milford, and Masuk of Monroe. Neumeyer notes that the depth of the SWC will make for tough competition day in and day out. He is confident that that the depth of his team, combined with smart play and hard work, will result in plenty of wins.

The Nighthawks began the season with a 3-2 loss to Oxford on September 14. Following the home opener, against Immaculate of Danbury at Treadwell Park’s Tilson Field on September 16, NHS will play two consecutive road games, at Pomperaug and Bethel, before returning to Treadwell to entertain Stratford on September 28.