US National Team vs. Czech Republic

Second Half Action at Rentchler Field

This past Tuesday the US Mens National Team took on the Czech Republic in the first match of their "send off series" before the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The match took place at 8:00 in East Hartford CT, at Rentschler Field, Uconn's football field.

The match against the Czech Republic was more than just another game for many of the players, it was their final audition to make the cut to be on the 23 man roster that would head to the World Cup. Many players did make an impression, but the overall effort was not there as the US fell 4-2.

However, the US played without many of their regulars as Coach Bradley rested Jozy Altidore, Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, Michael Bradley, and goalie Tim Howard did not dress. Both goals in the game for the US came from players who had never scored in international play. Maurice Edu scored in the 17th minute and Herculez Gomez scored in the 65th minute as a substitute. The 23 man roster has subsequently been released and Gomez's beautiful header for a goal was certainly a difference maker in earning a spot on the roster for the World Cup. The complete US roster is available at ussoccer.com

New Fairfield Crushes Brookfield to Advance to SWC Final

You wouldn't know it from watching today's game, but back in April the Bobcats actually beat the red-hot Rebels. Now, New Fairfield is playing on a whole new level, reaching their full potential and firing on all cylinders in their statement win over conference power Brookfield. Led by Morgan LaBarbera's six goals and four assists, the underclassman-heavy Rebels showed their maturity in avenging the early-season loss.

Coming off a triple-overtime thriller in the quarterfinals over arch-rival New Milford, the Rebels had all the swagger and confidence of a champion. After a slow start, the 1-1 tie quickly escalated to a 10-3 New Fairfield advantage. The Bobcats looked like they may still have a bit of fight left in them when they scored two straight goals, but their "comeback" was short-lived as they gave up two more scores to go into halftime down 12-5.

In the second half the Rebels held down the hapless Bobcats, emphasizing their total control by scoring first and maintaining their strangehold on the Bobcats' vaunted offense. As if to tease their opponent, the Rebels allowed their lead to shrink to 6, winning 14-8 with fifteen minutes left. The final nails in Brookfield's coffin were three straight goals allowed creating an insurmountable nine goal deficit with only four minutes left. With the game in hand, Coach Robusto's squad let up enough for their opponent to score a meaningless goal and lose 17-9, exiting the tournament with just a shred of pride.

New Fairfield is a classic case of a team getting hot at the right time, everyone is playing their best all season and it feels like a team destined to win a championship. No matter who wins the other semifinal, the Rebels will have to beat another team they lost to in the regular season, having fallen to both Immaculate and Newtown. However, after today's performance New Fairfield may not be challenged again until late in the state playoffs.

Rebels Roll Through Pomperaug

The Boys Lacrosse team crushed Pomperaug 17-2 in the first round of the SWC playoffs in a game that could hardly be considered competitive. All cylinders were firing on offense, and the defense was stifling as usual led by captain Jesse Broderick.

The Rebels started off slow scoring just one goal in the first nine minutes of the game. However, Sam Reynolds scored two goals within fifteen seconds to put the Rebels up 3-0. Ben Reed, then Dan Miley, and Sam Reynolds again scored in succession to put the Rebels up 6-0, a very commanding lead before Pomperaug scored their lone goal of the half.

Pomperaug would not have a chance to build any momentum as the Rebels offense was relentless, eventually taking an 11-1 lead to halftime highlighted by Reynolds' five goals.

The second half was a great oppurtunity for the Rebels to reward members of the team with some playoff playing time, however, that did not stop the Rebels from scoring as they scored six second half goals, two by Justin Menke, who had three goals in the game. Matt Reynolds and Joe Gephart were both very strong in goal, only allowing one second half goal.

The Rebels took care of business in the first round of the SWC's and move on to play Newtown in the semifinals who they had beaten earlier in the season 7-3. The game will be played Tuesday at Weston High School at 5pm.

Slugfest in New Fairfield

Yesterday’s SWC contest between New Fairfield and Bethel turned out to be one of the more exciting games played by the New Fairfield baseball team so far this season. Unfortunately for the Rebels however, they did not come out on top. Sam Telhiard of Bethel delivered the game winning RBI with a single in the top of the 7th to give Bethel a 13-12 victory, their 16th of the season. The Rebels dropped to 9 and 11 on the year with the loss.

Bethel began the scoring in the top of the first. Catcher PJ Rinaldi singled off starting pitcher Joe Petrone, scoring Jesse Frawley to put Bethel on top 1-0. The Rebels responded in the bottom of the inning with a 2-run double by captain Anthony Muratore, followed by a deep two run home run to left-center by captain Frank Guardi. Bethel struck back with 5 runs in the third, highlighted by a two run home run by designated hitter Joe Carillo and a 2 RBI double by Rinaldi. The Rebels then answered with four runs of their own in the bottom of the inning. Tyler Hooper capitalized on two Bethel errors and smacked a two run single to right. The Rebels scored three more runs in the bottom of the fourth to put themselves up 11-6. In the top of the 5th, Bethel had 5 hits, including 2 doubles, and scored four runs to cut the lead to 11-10. PJ Rinaldi picked up his 4thth RBI of the game with an RBI single in the inning. Matt McCandless’s RBI single in the 6th inning pushed the Rebels lead to 12-10, setting the stage for a dramatic 7th. After Steve Maruzzela popped out to Rebel shortstop Jake Patten, New Fairfield pitcher PJ Jamison issued a walk to Andy Guerico. Jamison then struck out leadoff hitter John Sorice, but sophomore catcher Joe Roberti dropped the third strike. Normally in this situation the catcher would throw the ball to first for the sure out, but Roberti hesitated, then threw the ball down to second to make a play on the lead runner Guerico, who had rounded the base. The throw was high, and Guerico took off for third, where he slid in safely. So rather than having a runner on second with two outs, Bethel had runners on the corners with one out. Jamison hit the next batter and loaded the bases, bringing up Rinaldi. Rinaldi hit a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Guerico and cutting the lead to 12-11. New Fairfield then brought in Frank Guardi to pitch to John Simonelli, who had been 0-4. Simonelli singled between the shortstop and third basemen, scoring Sorice and tying the score at 12. The next batter was Telhiard, who singled to right to put Bethel up 13-12. Grant Smith popped up to first base to end the inning. The Rebels had a chance in the bottom of the 7th, with Joey Silva, Muratore, and Guardi due to bat, but the middle of the Rebel order was retired 1-2-3, and game ended 13-12.

Although Bethel had locked up the number one seed in the SWC playoffs and the Rebels had already been eliminated from those same playoffs, both teams showed their heart and put on a show for the crowd. Bethel will continue play in the SWC playoffs next week, while the Rebels will have the week off and await the CIAC State Playoffs.

Rebels Baseball Beats Brookfield, SWC Hopes Still Alive

On Thursday the Rebels went to Brookfield to play a pivotal SWC game that the Rebels needed to win. Starting on the mound for the Rebels was Robert Moretti. Brookfield jumped out to an early 3-0 lead but the Rebels fought back by adding 1 in the bottom of the first, then another in the second to bring the score to 3-2.

In the bottom of the third the Rebels added 2 more to give them a 4-3 lead and never looked back. Moretti was relieved after 3 innings pitched for P.J. Jamison who silenced the Bobcat bats. In the bottom of the fourth the Rebels tacked on four runs then would add another 3 in the sixth. Nick Venitucci closed the game for the Rebels. Anthony Muratore lead the Rebels going 3-4 with a double and 2 RBI's. Frank Guardi also went 3-4 with a triple and 2 RBI's. Anthony Valentini had a solid game at the plate going 0-0 (2 SAC fly's) with 2 RBI's. Moretti picked up the win for the Rebels.

The Rebels finish their season against the Bethel Wildcats in a must win SWC game for the Rebels. With a win and a Stratford win over Bunnell, the Rebels will clinch a spot in the SWC Tournament. Joe Petrone will be on the mound for the Rebels at 4:00 eastern, 10:00 Hawaiian.

Boys Tennis Falls to Masuk

The Boys Tennis Team entered their match against Masuk at Masuk High School on Tuesday with a chance to keep their hopes of qualifying for the state tournament alive. Unfortunately the Rebels were not able to pull out a win against Masuk and fell 5-2.

The Rebels number 1 single player, Matt Hickey, lost to Stevie Diamond in straight sets 6-4, 6-2. A win at the number one spot would have been a strong statement, and possibly have changed the outcome of the entire match.

Brett Pond, usually a first doubles player, made a cameo at second singles and as Hickey did, fell in straight sets to Sonny Caplash 6-0, 6-2. Donald Torre, usually the second singles player needed three sets to beat Jon Strumpf 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, in a match full of questionable calls. When asked what the turning point of the match was Donald did not hesitate to say "calling the line judges on, I felt much more confident with my shots after we had a third party responsible for calling balls in and out." Matt Anderson was pushed from his usual third singles spot to fourth singles and beat Ryan Powers in straight sets 6-1, 6-3.

The first doubles team had an extremely back and forth match, with the last part of the third set on video below. Andrew Wilkens and Greg Kreusser fought valiantly to keep the Rebels postseason hopes alive, but were unable to take the third set from Jon Plavicky and Ryan Beauchamp of Masuk.

The second doubles team of Andrew Smyth and Brett Grabert lost in two sets 6-1, 6-1. Third doubles had an extremely competitive first set, but lost the tiebreaker, and after they found out before the start of the second set that first doubles had lost and there was no longer an oppurtunity to win the match it was tough to put out the required effort and they lost the set 6-0.

Rebels Baseball Qualifies For States

On Monday the 17th, the New Fairfield Rebels took on the Brookfield Bobcats at Duchess Stadium for their Senior Night. The eight seniors of the Rebels were honored for there hard work and dedication to the baseball program. The seniors of the Rebs were Matt Andreozzi, Matt McCandless, Frank Guardi, Tyler Hooper, Anthony Valentini, Anthony Muratore, Will Dionisio, and Joe Petrone.

The Rebs right from the start jumped to a 3-0 lead at the bottom of the first with hard hitting through out the line up. Their fielding was near perfection not making any errors through the first six innings. In the second, third, fourth, and fifth the Rebels added two runs and increased their lead to 11-0. Joe Petrone was near perfection on the mound pitching 6.0 shutout innings striking out 5 while only walking 1. Brookfield would add six in the top of the seventh but where subduded by the Rebels. Matt McCandless lead the Rebels going 2-4. Frank Guardi also went 4-4 with a double and 2 RBI's and Will Dionisio went 2-2 with 2 RBI's as well. The rest of the senior Rebs chipped in with their flawless "D" and in the process qualified for states gaining their eigth win. The Rebels will continue thier season with a SWC game vs Bethel at home at 4:00.

NF Baseball Falls To Newtown

On Saturday May 15, the New Fairfield Rebels took on the Newtown Nighthawks in an SWC battle. Robert Moretti was on the mound for the Rebs. Through the first 5 innings the Rebels were cruising taking a 4-1 lead into the top of the 5th. In those innings the Rebels had atleast 2 baserunners on every inning. In the 5th though they hit a wall. Moretti got into a bases loaded jam and was replaced by P.J. Jamison with no outs in the top half of the inning. Then the Nighthawk bats woke up and scored 7 runs taking an 8-4 lead into the bottom half of the seventh. The Rebels would add one more and came up short 8-5. Frank Guardi lead the Rebels by goin 2-4 with 2 doubles and 2 RBI's and Joey Silva went 0-1 with 3 BB's and 2 runs. The Rebels pick up thier season again on Monday when they play the Brookfield Bobcats at 7:00 at Duchess Stadium for the Rebels Senior Night.

New Fairfield Grounds the Nighthawks

The Rebels led wire-to-wire in one of the most exciting 7-3 games you will ever see. While Newtown's offense has not played well as of late, their three goal performance is due in part to New Fairfield's smothering defense and sensational play by goalie Nick Costabile. The Rebel defenders harassed their opposition all night, forcing short possessions and allowing only a few good shots all game. Hard-hitting captain Connor McNamara and the Newtown defense played admirably but it's hard to stop a team with so many weapons. Consistent with their play all season, 5 players scored New Fairfield's 7 goals.

The Rebels got off to a fast start, winning the faceoff and scoring on their first posession just 49 seconds into the game. The goal came when Max Blum leveled three defenders in front of the Newtown net, causing a loose ball. John Pendergast scooped up the loose ball for an easy score. New fairfield's second goal came just after the 8 minute mark when Ryan Mallon fed Andrew Kerner for the 2-0 lead. Newtown answered quickly, scoring with 6:40 to go in the first quarter. Over the next nine minutes there were several good looks for both teams, but each goalie was determined not to allow the next goal. Ryan Mallon finally broke the 2-1 stalemate when he drove to the net, spun, and made a spectacular falling shot with 9:17 to go in the second quarter.

With just under 5 minutes to go in the first half Nick Costabile had both his greatest blunder and finest moment. Standing behind his own net, he tried to throw a long pass to midfield, but it was intercepted by an opportunistic Newtown attackman about ten yards in front of the open goal. Costabile acted fast, charged him, and caused the rushed offender to miss the empty net, preserving the slim 3-1 lead. The game would remain scoreless through the remainder of the first half.

Newtown struck first in the second half, scoring four and a half minutes in when Colby Summerlin ripped a shot past Costabile to close the gap to one, the closest the Nighthawks would get all night. New Fairfield answered less than a minute later when Sam Reynolds passed to John Pendergast, who scored his second goal of the game. The Rebels won the faceoff and Dylan White scored on the ensuing possession to go up 5-2, they would maintain the lead through the end of the third quarter.

Ryan Mallon scored his second goal of the evening with 11:22 left in the fourth quarter, picking up a loose ball after a missed shot bounced off the post. Newtown cut the lead back to three when they scored their third and final goal with 6:45 left in the game. Tim Dalton took a pass from Dan Hebert and snuck a shot past Costabile, giving the Nighthawks a short-lived slimmer of hope. Dan Miley crushed their hope just thirty seconds later when he effortlessly scored the Rebels’ seventh and final goal to go up 7-3. The remainder of the fourth quarter was a series of fouls and penalties as Newtown fought furiously to come back, but was held down by a superior Rebels team. Fortunately the game ended before any of the frustrated Nighthawks could let their emotions get the best of them.

With this win, the Rebels seem to be back on track and refocused. They played their game tonight, strong defense and balanced, opportunistic offense, and look to be poised for a strong finish heading into the playoffs.

Clash of the Titans (Boys Lax @ Weston)

Rebels look to force overtime late in the 4th quarter

New Fairfield senior Andrew Kerner said it best before the game when he stated the keys to the game against the Weston Trojans (11-1) would be ground balls and time of possession. Weston proved to be superior in both facets as they consistently beat the rebels to loose balls en route to a back and forth 7-6 win.

As expected it was a low-scoring defensive game between the two SWC powerhouses. The two teams traded goals in the first half, but thanks to a late second quarter goal by Lyle Mitchell the Trojans held a slim 4-3 lead at halftime.

The Rebels came out firing in the third quarter and tied the game at 4, a score that would not last long as Weston scored to take a 5-4 lead, and Faller of Weston scored with 5 minutes remaining in the third quarter to take a commanding 6-4 lead.

An offsides penalty in the closing seconds of the third quarter led to an early 4^th quarter goal by Ryan Mallon to put New Fairfield down 1. Momentum stayed with the Rebels as Mallon tied the game less than two minutes later, setting the stage for an exhilarating final ten minutes.

Nick Costabile made a spectacular save, but on the following Weston possession a series of crisp passes concluded with Captain Morgan Faller feeding Lyle Mitchell for the go-ahead goal, a lead Weston would not relinquish. Over the final 7:30 New Fairfield had several opportunities to tie the game including a strong drive by Max Blum with less than two minutes remaining, however he was knocked down as he shot and missed wide. The Rebels last chance was thwarted when goalie Alex Peyreigne saved a desperate shot by Sam Reynolds.

This likely will not be the last meeting between the two schools with the SWC playoffs looming two weeks away. A determined well-coached New Fairfield team will surely be eager to avenge a frustrating one goal loss.