By JON GERAMITA

jgeramita@njherald.com

SPARTA -- Here's all one needs to know about how Newton lost to North Hunterdon in the finals of the Hunterdon Warren Sussex boys' soccer tournament Saturday.

With time dwindling in the second half, Newton had three consecutive corner kicks from the same spot. One resulted in a header that bounced around before being cleared, another was swept away back to midfield and the last resulted in Paul Billing getting open in front, only to have his shot tipped away by goalie Zach Dahme.

On the rebound, North Hunterdon took control and in two passes, Travis Elwood was on a breakaway, giving his team a 3-0 lead.

Both teams had chances. North Hunterdon simply converted and Newton didn't.

"Chances," Newton coach Pat Brennan said. "That's it. That's all that mattered today."

Make no mistake, though, North Hunterdon was the better team Saturday. It is the No. 15-ranked team in the state and was able to match Newton's brawn with speed and height. It made some plays that others probably couldn't make on the Braves.

"They were a great team, no question," Newton's Kevin Churchill said. "But on another day, who knows. I think if we played better, we would have a good chance at getting them."

In the grand scheme of things, the only thing this loss does to Newton is ensure it won't be undefeated this year. It has no bearing on seeding (Newton is the top seed in the North 1, Group 2 playoffs) and North Hunterdon is a Group 4 school.

It will also be the last game played on turf in a while for Newton, as every sectional playoff game it has will be at St. Paul's Abbey, the polar opposite of smooth synthetic grass.

If Newton advances far enough, the next team of this caliber it could possibly face would be Ramsey in the sectional finals or Cliffside Park (14-0-1), the No. 2 team in the state, for a state championship.

"Group 2 is loaded," Brennan said. "So, I hope this is the toughest team we play this year. I do hope that these guys remember how this feels and that they don't want to have it again."

Churchill echoed his coach: "I don't ever want this to happen again."

North Hunterdon's Zak Haapaoja was named the tournament MVP and scored twice in the first half. Conner Ventura sent a cross to Haapoaja, who headed in the game's first goal. Later in the half, Ryan Grubbs lofted a high pass in front of the net to Haapoaja, who got position and headed in another goal.

Here's where the chances come in: Just before the first goal, Churchill send a shot from 20 yards out just wide and high.

"I thought it was going in," Churchill said.

Right after the second goal, Newton had another corner kick, as Andy Weber's pass went to Tyler Conrads, who just missed again.

Before halftime, Churchill had another opportunity, but again missed.

"I thought we played well, really," Brennan said. "It's awful hard to beat a team like that when you don't convert chances, though."

Newton hosts Hawthorne at 2 p.m. on Tuesday in the first round of the playoffs.

North Hunterdon 3, Newton 0

NH 2 1 -- 3

N 0 0 -- 0

Goals: NH -- Zak Haapaoja 2, Travis Elwood.

Assists: NH -- Ryan Grubbs, Conner Ventura.

Saves: N -- Tom Frangeih 6, NH -- Zach Dahme 5.

Team records: Newton 15-1-1, North Hunterdon 16-2.