The old sayings “a win is a win” and “a loss is a loss” may hold true when you get right down to it — after all, the standings say so. But sometimes there are wins of sorts to be found under the surface of a given setback. That, Newtown High School field hockey Coach Ellen Goyda hopes, is the case for her squad in a 3-0 loss to Mamaroneck, N.Y., at Blue & Gold Stadium on September 20.

“The kids are only going to get better playing this way,” said Goyda, adding that she would rather her team lose to a perennial out-of-state powerhouse than blow out an inferior opponent.

Goyda was pleased with the all around effort against a Mamaroneck team that was coming off a 12-goal performance in its previous tilt and that has been in seven state championships, winning three of them, in recent years.

“We want to play a tough schedule so when we play our conference we’re more than ready,” said Goyda, whose team began the slate with a dramatic 2-1 win over nonconference foe Trumbull back on September 11.

Newtown goaltender Cailyn Sullivan played three of the quarters and made a dozen saves, and Kaelin Rising played the third stanza and stopped three shots, including a penalty stroke late in the period.

“I’m very proud of both goalies. They really held it together. Everybody played hard and that’s what I ask of them,” Goyda said.

Mamaroneck had a 14-5 advantage in penalty corners but the Nighthawks generated some scoring chances throughout the game. An added challenge Newtown had was that Mamaroneck Coach John Savage is quite familiar with Newtown’s playbook. A Newtown resident, Savage assisted on the coaching staff last fall when New York teams were completely shut down due to the coronavirus. Savage also worked with Newtown’s players in preseason summer training since Connecticut coaches are not permitted to work with their team members in the offseason.

“He beat us at our own game. He did exactly to us what we run,” Goyda said. “As coaches, we exchanged a few tactics and told each other a few things." Some facets of Newtown's game that Mamaroneck applied included elimination skills in which potential scoring threats are marked, self start free hits, and when to take that drive to the opposite post, Newtown's coach said. "Problem was, his kids mastered it.”

Savage had high praise for Goyda and company. He said that in 27 years of coaching he has not met a better person/coach as Goyda and added that his players commented on what great sportsmanship Newtown’s group displayed; the Nighthawks earned the SWC Sportsmanship Award last fall.

And Goyda has plenty of respect for Savage.

“He’s a great coach with a great reputation and a career record that stands for itself,” Goyda said.

The Hawks were scheduled to play their first South-West Conference games in a road matchup with Masuk of Monroe on September 22 and a home tilt with New Fairfield on September 24 (see the October 1 print edition of The Bee for coverage). Newtown has four more potentially challenging out-of-conference games remaining.