Coming off a season in which the Newtown High School girls' lacrosse team went 11-6 in the regular slate, reached the South-West Conference title game before falling 10-7 to New Fairfield, and lost to familiar conference foe Masuk of Monroe in the Class L State Tournament quarterfinals, the Nighthawks are looking to win it all in the SWC and contend for a state championship this spring.

"Every year we want to stay healthy and have a lot fun playing good lacrosse along the way. The main goal is always to win SWCs and to have a deep run at states. Again we are Class L this year which really opens the door for a long successful season of lacrosse for us," Coach Steph Suhoza said.

Newtown was switched from Class LL to Class L last spring, which eliminates facing most of the perennial powerhouse FCIAC squads.

Captains are midfielder Natalie McLean (who will play Division I lacrosse at Long Island University next year), attacker Nicki Kaplan, and defender Kayla Locke.

Other key players are goaltender Emily Sachs; defender Audrey McLean; attackers Blake Heim-Sherwood, Olivia Verdi, and Gabby O'Sullivan; and midfielders Sara Ruddy, Sadie Singlak, and Peyton Merrifield.

"We graduated six starters so we are looking to reload this year and all players need to step up to fill those gaps. We have some great young talented athletes coming up that can hold their own on the varsity field. All returning starters are key to the team success; we have really great anchor players on each third of the field — midfield, defense, and attack — and look for their leadership through the captains," Suhoza said.

Among the strengths of the team is chemistry. "They have been playing together for a long time so there is a lot of awareness for how their teammates play. Offensively, we are able to reload, and defensively we have a lot of great athletes stepping up to fill the gaps of recent grads. We will look to continue to grow as a team across the field being a bit younger as the season progresses," the coach said.

The Nighthawks are excited to be back on the field together and begin the season. "The spring sports season is fast and furious being so short, but its so fun once we get underway. The girls have come with a ton of energy, ready to play, and focused on getting the SWC title back," said Suhoza, whose team captured the conference crown in 2022.

There look to be a lot of great SWC matchups, with New Fairfield, Masuk of Monroe, Weston, Pomperaug of Southbury, and Joel Barlow of Redding all returning strong teams, the coach said. Key nonconference opponents include Conard of West Hartford, Class L state runner-up Cheshire, and Fairfield Ludlowe. The season begins on the road, Tuesday, April 7 at Immaculate of Danbury at 4 pm. When Cheshire visits Saturday, May 2 at 3:30 pm it will be the program's Mental Health Awareness game. "NHS is partnering with two great organizations this year for the game in the Alex Archie Foundation and 15 For Life," Suhoza said. Senior Night is Tuesday, May 12 when Weston visits at 5:30 pm.

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