Boys’ Soccer Team Needs To Overcome Injuries

By Andy Hutchison

Never mind the long list of top-notch opponents that await the Newtown High School boys’ soccer team this autumn. The Nighthawks’ injuries posed enough of a concern for the squad as preseason unfolded this past week.

The Hawks begin the year with two seniors sidelined and a third coming back after serious injury. A captain, a potential leading scorer, and a goalkeeper comprise the players in the NHS soccer MASH unit. The good news is that captain Chris Marks is back on the field after season-ending surgery for a broken tibia and fibula last fall. “It’s a miracle that he’s even playing,” said 11-year Head Coach Brian Neumeyer, pointing out that doctors said he would have trouble running again.

The Hawks, though, are without forward Andrew Domingos (torn ACL), whom Neumeyer said could have been the team’s leading scorer, to start the season. Connor Collier, who was supposed to start in goal, broke his hand in preseason and is out for the year, leaving it up in the air as to who will man the nets, the coach said.

Newtown also graduated seven players from last year’s 10-5-5 team, which got all the way to the South-West Conference final before losing 1-0 to Joel Barlow, and fell in the first round of the Class LL state tourney (1-0 to Bristol Central). Among those seven grads, only two — Matt Debrantes and Dan Smith — were starters.

In addition to Marks, senior midfielder Andrew Meisel and junior midfielder Evan Kennedy are captains. Senior defender Kyle Droniak and juniors Eric Thornburg (forward) and Matt Slattery (fullback) will be key contributors, their coach said.

“We want to play good soccer, we want to win games but we want to make playoff runs too,” Neumeyer said.

If recent history is on Newtown’s side, playoff runs — at least when it comes to conference play — will be a reality. NHS has reached the SWC finals in seven of the last eight seasons.

“I think we’ll be really successful. Obviously we want to win,” Meisel said.

“We’ve just got to practice really hard. We really want it as a team,” Kennedy added.

Barlow and Brookfield, both schools Newtown faces twice each (and under the lights both times) are among the more formidable foes on the slate. Additionally, Pomperaug and Brookfield are teams to circle on the schedule. “It’s a tough schedule,” Neumeyer said.

The Hawks will seek to push the tempo to dictate the pace of their games this fall.

“I think we’re going to have a successful season provided we play our game,” Marks said.