The defending South-West Conference Champion Newtown High School field hockey team will look for repeat success and has a combination of experienced players and varsity newcomers in the fold.

“As always, our goal is to win an SWC championship. Entering this season as defending champions puts a larger target on our back within the league. The girls have a good understanding of that as well as a drive to win again. We have a solid amount of players returning for us, most of which were with us during the postseason last year so they understand the high-pressure situations and what it’s going to take to get there,” Coach Megan Goyda said.

But it does not stand to be easy, especially given the loss of a large contingent of seniors. A benefit for the Nighthawks has been the opportunity for teams to practice throughout the summer, which was not allowed before last summer.

“We are very young. We are going to have a lot of sophomores touch the field this year. Due to the large graduating class last year, we also have a lot of girls who will be recording varsity turf time for the first time. Although we are young and lack a bit of experience, this group of kids is eager to learn and already apply what they have learned from those older than them,” Goyda said.

“We’ve also seen some incredible chemistry so far this year. During the offseason, we played in a summer league where our midfielders and forwards showed a lot of promise in working together and being successful. Thanks to summer league and practices — with the new rule changes — we’re already entering this season with quality stick work and field play so I’m excited to watch it translate onto the field," the coach added.

Senior captains are midfielder/defender Kayla Locke; defenders Amanda Faircloth, Madi Slater, and Emma Chappa; and forward Lucia Romano.

Key returnees also include senior forward Corynn Hettenbach; juniors: forward Emily O’Neil, midfielder Kaitlyn Doyle, and midfielder/defender Keira Campbell; sophomores: midfielder/forward Evelynn Schoen, forward Lyla Bshara, midfielder Charlotte Grasso, and defender Kaylin Pimente.

“We have some tough nonconference games. Branford, Trumbull and Hand (of Madison) being a few. Within the SWC we expect difficult matches from Immaculate (of Danbury), New Fairfield, Joel Barlow (of Redding), Pomperaug (of Southbury), and as always, New Milford. Tough games are always exciting. We talk a lot about earning everything so when we face difficult teams it either makes wins more satisfying or gives us more to learn from moving forward,” Goyda said.

“With the new summer rules we’ve been working with a good core of the team for a few months. We’ve had some great turnouts and the girls are very excited to get the season started. The increased time between being back on the field and game play is building a lot of anticipation for both the players and coaches,” Goyda said.

The regular season begins Tuesday, September 2, when Branford visits at 7 pm. The Nighthawks have three straight nonconference clashes before Immaculate visits Wednesday, September 10, for another 7 pm clash. A rematch of last year’s SWC final will take place Monday, October 6, when the Hawks visit New Milford at 5:30 pm.

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