Some things never change, and even when they do ... they don’t. Or in the case of Newtown High School’s girls’ lacrosse team, the Nighthawks believe that will be the case. The Hawks, who lost several key pieces to graduation a year ago, look to remain a threat to capture postseason success.

The Nighthawks, after a decade of South-West Conference domination, have seen New Fairfield become the team to beat with three of the last four conference titles, although Newtown has remained in the mix of top SWC teams throughout most of the last nine years, during which the conference has had much more parity with four teams — including Newtown, runner-up to Joel Barlow of Redding in 2021 — combining to compete in the last two pinnacle contests.

“We have a very young team having graduated six starters last year. We have solid returners at all positions on the field so I am hoping that those players will be great leaders/mentors to the underclassmen and help to get them up to higher level varsity players. The SWC has solid competition this year and our primary goal will be to win the SWC championship and to once again be a contender at the Class L State championship,” NHS Coach Maura Fletcher said.

The Nighthawks are led by their captains, midfielder Bella Gerace and defender Allie Bradley.

Other key returnees are midfielder Summer Harrell, attack players Ava Mitchell and Jules Battaglia, midfielder/defender Brooke Bulkley, and goaltender Alexa Manfredonia.

“I would say our strength is a well-balanced team. No big egos on the field and everyone is willing to play wherever they are needed,” Fletcher said.

“As far as player expectations, I expect a hard work ethic and good attitude. There are always things you can’t control but effort and attitude are definitely things we can control. Having respect for team rules and for each other will also aid in our success. Having fun at practices is crucial to success. If we are having fun it doesn’t feel like work — just play and have fun and good things will happen,” Fletcher added.

“It is going to take a lot of hard work to achieve our goals but the girls are excited and are up for the task. We have some tough competition to beat this year and we have a challenging nonconference schedule which should challenge us and make us better in the long run,” she added.

The Hawks finished in a three-way tie atop the SWC, along with New Fairfield and Weston, in the regular season last spring. Fletcher thinks Weston and New Fairfield will be teams to beat this year, and that Joel Barlow and Masuk of Monroe each have a strong presence and can’t be overlooked.

Newtown always has some tough out-of-conference game action scheduled. FCIAC teams Fairfield Ludlowe and St Joseph of Trumbull are on the slate, as are foes Cheshire and Glastonbury.

“Some pretty healthy rivalries,” said Fletcher, whose squad won thrillers over St Joes and Cheshire and topped Glastonbury twice, including in the state tourney, last season.

It all gets started Thursday, April 6, with a visit to New Milford at 5:45 pm. Masuk visits Tuesday, April 11 at 7 pm.

Sports Editor Andy Hutchison can be reached at andyh@thebee.com.