Update: This article has been updated with Newtown's seeding and qualifying round opponent.

A silver lining in the Newtown High School field hockey team’s 2-1 upset loss to visiting Brookfield in the South-West Conference Tournament quarterfinals on October 27 is that the Nighthawks will need to pull off some underdog magic in the state playoffs and can turn to this outcome for inspiration.

“I told them anything’s possible. Six just beat three. Why can’t we beat a one, two, or three when we go in,” said Newtown Coach John Savage, referring to the tournament seedings and potential for the Nighthawks when the Class L state playoffs begin.

The Hawks will have to earn an upset of greater magnitude in the state bracket if they get to the first round. Newtown is the No. 17 seed and will have a qualifying round visit to No. 16 Stamford Monday November 7, at 3 pm. The winner visits No. 1 Darien in the first round on Wednesday, November 9.

Meanwhile, it was a nice achievement for the Bobcats, who are coached by former Nighthawk player Megan Goyda

“We expected a good game. Unfortunately, the score isn’t what we wanted it to be,” said Savage, whose team edged the Bobcats 3-2 in a regular-season clash.

Down 2-0 at the half, the Nighthawks needed a quick spark to begin the third quarter. Savage asked his players to put the ball in the cage early in the second half to create some momentum.

Ellenoire Schoen scored just 45 seconds out of the halftime break and it seemed Newtown was in great shape to mount a comeback.

“Boom — they did it. Then it became a game of between the 25 yard lines,” said Savage, referring to a bulk of the play occurring in the middle of the field, away from both goals. Savage noted that his defense was stellar for most of the night.

Abby Ihlefeld, Alison Powers, Jenna Lagan, and Reese Lischuk broke up plays near the mid field and disrupted Brookfield’s clearing attempts. Goaltender Riley Alesevich made a small handful of stops. Defender Brooke Bulkley blocked a shot in the fourth quarter, keeping the Hawks within striking distance and Lagan had a key interception late to set up one final push. The offense had six penalty corners and seven shots on goal but just could not muster enough chances to get the equalizer.

On the other side, this was a rewarding one.

“Incredible. I have no other way to describe it,” said Goyda, who guided the Bobcats to their first SWC tournament appearance since 2015. “I think we had nothing to lose coming in as the lower seed. They’re supposed to win. We just came out intense and having fun. There was no pressure on us.”

The same can be said about the Nighthawks when they jump into state playoff action.

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