It has been quite a start to the season for the Newtown High School girls’ lacrosse team. The Nighthawks had a busy and productive opening week with four games (and wins) in a span of six days. And the Hawks won in a variety of ways, from blowouts to nail-biting comebacks.

After a 16-1 drubbing of visiting South-West Conference foe New Milford on April 7, the Hawks came from behind to defeat host St Joseph of Trumbull 11-10 on April 9. Newtown trailed 6-4 at the half and fell behind 10-5 before rallying. Izzy Butler assisted Gia Corso to tie the game on the fast break with about four minutes to play, and Erin Phaneuf netted the game-winner on a free position opportunity with three minutes remaining.

“We made a few defensive adjustments and scored three quick goals in under two minutes. After a big interception at the midfield by Gia Corso, we sensed a continued momentum shift,” said Newtown Coach Maura Fletcher, whose team continued its comeback.

After Allie Bradley came up with a big draw control the Nighthawks turned the ball over on the offensive end of the field but were bailed out on a key save by goaltender Alexa Manfredonia, setting the stage for Phaneuf’s go-ahead tally. The Cadets got possession off the next draw but Newtown’s defense crashed hard and Ella Hage came up with the loose ball and what Fletcher called the play of the game to help seal the win. The Hawks ran out the final 1:30.

Phaneuf had three goals and an assist and Corso also had three goals. Bella Gerace scored twice and had two assists, Butler notched a pair of goals and had an assist, Elena Sughrue scored a goal, and Summer Harrell and Bradley both had assists. Manfredonia made two saves.

In that win over New Milford, Jules Battaglia, Butler, and Corso all netted hat-tricks, and Sughrue and Hage both scored twice. Corso assisted on three of the tallies.

The Nighthawks went to Conard for another nonconference tilt on April 11, and rolled 15-4. “Total team effort fueled by Summer Harrell possessions on the goal circle. Defense shut down their two top scorers,” Fletcher said.

Sughrue netted four goals and an assist, Harrell had a hat-trick to go along with two assists, Phaneuf also scored three times, and Corso scored twice.

The Hawks returned to SWC action on April 12 with a visit to Masuk of Monroe and fell behind early before rallying in the second half. It was 9-6 Masuk at the break and the Nighthawks outscored the Panthers 9-1 in the second half for a 15-10 victory. Gerace and Harrell both had four goals, Sughrue scored three, Corso had two, and Battaglia and Phaneuf each added one tally.

Newtown fell behind in large part because of Masuk dominating possession early in the game, Fletcher said.

“The second-half run began with Bella Gerace getting more aggressive on the draw circle and creating offensive opportunities for us,” Fletcher said. “We had key turnovers in the second half and the defense really picked it up in the second half.”

Harrell had eight draw controls and Gerace logged six among Newtown’s 17 draw controls as a team.

Gerace and Harrell scored twice in the opening 1:14 of the 25-minute second half and Gerace’s free position shot tally tied things 2:17 out of the break. The goals kept coming. Harrell netted a free position tally for a 10-9 lead. After a pair of stops on defense to preserve the lead, Sughrue was set up by Battaglia 8:30 into the second half and Newtown built on its lead. Gerace extended it to a 12-9 advantage and the Hawks held the Panthers off the board in the second half until past the mid point. Masuk finally ended the scoring run with 10:29 to play, but the Nighthawks shut out the Panthers the rest of the way and pulled away with three late tallies.

A pair of comeback efforts in a span of three games is impressive. “They’re gritty; they’re a really good team,” Fletcher said of her squad.

Strong defense by Shannon Kelleher, Bradley, and Hage, along with the work of Manfredonia in the cage helped NHS remain unbeaten to start.

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