Newtown Boys Lacrosse is SWC Champion

The top-seeded Newtown High School boys lacrosse team won the South-West Conference Championship Friday evening, beating arch-rival New Fairfield 12-7 at Pomperaug High School.

It was the same field Newtown had beaten New Fairfield to claim the SWC title two years earlier, and the seniors involved in that game remembered it well.

Nighthawk senior midfielder Colby Summerlin scored seven goals in Friday's game to take MVP honors. Sophomore attacker Dan Hebert and senior attacker and co-captain Lewis Thompson each scored two goals and added assists for Newtown.

Dan Sclafani scored a goal and assisted on another, Justin Brophy had two assists, and Will Northrop notched a single assist in the title game.

After a Ryan Castro goal gave New Fairfield a 1-0 lead, Thompson used his strength and muscle to drive hard around the left side of the cage, rolling inside Rebel defender Derek Hanley and beating freshman goalie Joe Carlucci to knot the game at 1-1.

The SWC Offensive Player of the Year, New Fairfield’s Ryan Mallon, worked his left-handed magic to beat Newtown goalie Brandon Body and give the Rebels a 2-1 lead at the 7:41 mark of the first quarter.

Newtown attackman Dan Hebert made a superior athletic effort to intercept a Carlucci clearing pass, and when he slipped the ball to Thompson inside the New Fairfield defense, the shot and score brought Newtown even at 2-2.

Newtown used midfield speed all year to overwhelm its SWC opponents, and the Nighthawks third goal came courtesy of their fastest player doing what he does best. Senior Dan Sclafani bolted past his defender and blasted a high shot that beat Carlucci to the stick side, turning the tide definitely toward the Nighthawks favor.

With 1:43 left in the quarter, Summerlin began an onslaught that would ultimately settle this game in the Nighthawks favor. The speedy and elusive Summerlin slipped past the Rebel defense to bounce a shot past Carlucci.

Hebert scored off a Brophy feed with 40 seconds left in the first to make it 5-2. Summerlin struck again with only ten seconds remaining in the quarter and Newtown had a 6-2 lead as the teams took to the sidelines.

It was more of the same to start the second quarter as Sclafani found Summerlin with a perfect feed in the slot, and the high whipping shot beat replacement keeper Joe Gephart for a 7-2 Newtown lead.

Hebert then took a Thompson pass and converted, making it 8-2 in favor of Newtown with 8:02 left in the half. Summerlin was a one man wrecking machine, collecting a Brophy pass and shooting past Gephart at a full dive.

Newtown’s 9-2 lead was impressive -- but the Rebels were not going to lie down.

After New Fairfield won the ensuing face-off, Rebel coach Marty Morgan took a time out to set up a play that paid off. Mallon drove hard to his left and threw the ball out to senior John Pendergast. The all-SWC attacker made good on the chance, and his patented rifle shot got past Body to cut the lead to 9-3 with :55 left in the half.

Rebel junior attacker Robbie Fiamengo got his team one goal closer with a dazzling display of balance and skill, weaving through the Newtown defense and putting a shot into the net with only :22 seconds left on the clock to give New Fairfield hope at 9-4 heading into the break.

The Rebels came out for the second half well aware that they possessed the firepower to come back. With Mallon, Pendergast and junior Dylan White, New Fairfield boasts three of the most prolific scorers in the SWC. White notched New Fairfield's fifth goal off a Fiamengo assist to make it 9-5 just over a minute into the third

Summerlin broke past midfield and went straight to the New Fairfield goal, bouncing the shot by the re-instated Carlucci to return the lead to 5.

The Rebels were able to hold possession for the majority of the quarter, using ball movement, face off wins and timely Newtown turnovers to keep the Nighthawk defense working overtime.

White struck again at 4:13 to make it 10-6. A last second tally by Castro drew the Rebels to within three at 10-7 and sent the game to the final session closer than the Nighthawks had hoped.

Summerlin and the Newtown defense took care of any concerns on the part of the Newtown faithful. The senior lefty's two fourth quarter goals, the first courtesy of a Northrop helper and the second unassisted, gave the Nighthawks the scoring they needed, and goalie Brandon Body did the rest, along with the help of Max Nacewicz, Jeremy Schaniel, Will Fletcher, Tom Murphy, Andrew Cebry and Jack Kearney.

The Nighthawk defense limited New Fairfield's primary offense weapons-Pendergast and Mallon to single goals. Body repeatedly made brilliant saves, snatching certain goals out of the air and sending the ball back the other way with pinpoint clearing passes. 

Nacewicz patrolled the Newtown defensive zone like an angry bull, inflicting bone-jarring hits on all who dared to venture into the crease area. 

As Newtown possessed the ball over the final minutes, it became apparent the New Fairfield rally had fallen short. 

The Nighthawks were crowned SWC Champions for the second time in three years.

Newtown will now await the winner of a Danbury vs. Cheshire play-in game as its first round opponent in the CIAC Class L state tournament. By virtue of their 14-2 regular season record, the Nighthawks are the No. 1 seed in the state tournament for large schools. 

That game will be played on Wednesday, June 1 at Newtown High School's Blue and Gold Stadium.  Game time is to be announced.

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