Tourney Time ... Girls' Soccer And Field Hockey Teams Reach Championships; Spikers Advance With 3-0 Win
Tourney Time ... Girlsâ Soccer And Field Hockey Teams Reach Championships; Spikers Advance With 3-0 Win
By Andy Hutchison
Newtown High Schoolâs girlsâ soccer and field hockey teams both won their South-West Conference semifinal round games on Tuesday and were slated to play in championship games Thursday (after The Bee went to press). Both teams are the tourneyâs No. 2 seeds and were to face the top seeds. The Newtown girlsâ volleyball team, meanwhile, won its conference tourney quarterfinal round match 3-0 over Stratford on Tuesday and was scheduled to play in the semifinals on Thursday with a berth in Saturdayâs championship on the line.
Girls Soccer
Kasey Schulz, despite playing on a sprained ankle, has come through in a big way for the Nighthawks in the playoffs. Schulz saw limited playing time in last Fridayâs 4-0 SWC quarterfinal round win over New Milford, but notched the teamâs second goal when she dribbled down the right wing, cut back and hooked a low shot inside the right post. She played all of Tuesdayâs semifinal game against Lauralton Hall and scored both goals in a 2-1 win.
In the quarterfinal round win, Kelley Sullivan netted a pair of goals and Kristen Tanner also found the back of the net.
The Nighthawks were looking forward to a rematch with always-tough, thorn-in-the-side Masuk in the final. Masuk beat Newtown twice in the regular season. Following the SWC tourney, Newtown will begin state playoff action. âI think we should go far,â Schulz said.
Field Hockey
First a loss, then a tie, now a win? Thatâs the way the Nighthawks were hoping it would play out as they headed into Thursdayâs championship game against Pomperaug. Pomperaug was the only SWC team to beat Newtown this year and the Hawks played to a scoreless tie with the Panthers in a late-season rematch. Newtown beat New Fairfield 1-0 in Tuesdayâs semifinal. Shelly Davies scored the lone goal and was assisted by Katie Canavan. The Nighthawks have held 11 of 17 opponents scoreless this campaign.
Volleyball
The top-seeded Nighthawks trailed in all three games of Tuesdayâs quarterfinal round match with No. 8 Stratford but rallied for a 3-0 (25-22, 25-14, 25-15) win. Trailing 22-19 in the first game, the Nighthawks called timeout and proceeded to reel off six unanswered points, led by the serving of Rachel Marcucilli, who finished with 11 aces.
Jordyn Good had nine digs and six kills, Megan Casey had 11 kills and seven digs, Carolyn Fagan, Marley Koschel, and Jocelyn Pasko each had four kills and Ashley Rothacker compiled 25 assists to go along with three kills. The Hawks, having gone perfect in SWC play this fall, should be confident in their chances of winning the tourney, but the team is on guard after going unbeaten a year ago before falling in the conference championship.
âWeâre trying to focus on this being a new part of the season,â Coach Tom Czaplinski said.
âIâm really excited about it. I know weâre going to work hard for it,â Marcucilli added.