What a way to start the season. Newtown High School's boys' lacrosse team came from three goals down to defeat visiting and Class L State Champion St Joseph of Trumbull 11-10 in overtime in the first game of the slate at Blue & Gold Stadium on a windy, chilly April 4 afternoon.

Nate Pickard took possession behind the St Joe goal, circled in front, made a spin move, and put home the decisive goal, sparking a pile-up of jubilant players 48 seconds into the four-minute overtime period.

"We knew it was coming. We went into this game with a winning mentality and we pulled it off," Pickard said.

Overcoming a team that won it all the year before is quite a way to get things going.

"It's hard to really say, honestly. It's a big win — anytime you get a win it's a big win," said NHS Coach Tony Fitti, adding that it was a great opportunity against a strong program.

Keys to win were doing the little things, adjustments on defense after the first half, Fitti said. The biggest part of what made the comeback happen was the team's resilience. Newtown trailed 6-4 at the break, twice trailing by three goals in the third quarter, and still had a 9-7 deficit to overcome in the fourth.

The Nighthawks capitalized on Cadet penalties to claw back in the final 12 minutes of regulation. After Hawk goaltender Hudson Wheat came up with a big save to keep it a two-goal deficit, the Hawks drew a penalty on the Cadets. Luke Stewart, assisted by Marcus Gerace, sliced the lead in half as penalty time expired, pulling Newtown to within a goal at 9-8 with 7:29 left. Gerace scored on a long-range laser while a player up, knotting the score with 5:49 to go.

Newtown went on a two-player advantage thanks to a push and slash just 12 seconds apart with about five minutes to go. Gerace assisted Nick Stockwell for a go-ahead Nighthawk net-finder just after both penalties expired, making it 10-9 NHS with 3:56 left. It was Newtown's first lead since 3-2 early in the game. The goal may not have been scored during player advantage time but the opportunity was created while a man up.

The teams traded turnovers and St Joe’s evened the score with 47 seconds left. NHS got possession off the ensuing draw but turned the ball over. Newtown's defense held the Cadets off the scoreboard in the waning seconds, setting the stage for the OT dramatics. Faceoff specialist Luke Gagnon came up with some timely draw wins down the stretch, none bigger than the extra time faceoff win that enabled the Nighthawks to set up the winning tally.

"Our guys just battled. We were down three — adversity; our guys just battled," Fitti said.

It was a close, back-and-forth contest from the start. It seemed like St Joe’s might seize control in the third but Newtown never let the visitors maintain momentum thanks, in large part, to penalties called on the visitors. The Hawks trimmed the 6-4 halftime deficit to a goal early in the third when Graham Spencer scored. St Joseph got the next two goals and it was 8-5 less than four minutes out of the halftime break.

Pickard scored while NHS was on a player advantage and the Hawks had opportunities to draw closer before a late-quarter turnover led to a Cadet goal and a 9-6 lead. Less than a minute later, and with just 38 seconds to go in the third, Nick Stockwell cashed in on a player up situation, assisted by Gerace, sparking the late-game comeback and dramatics.

Stockwell led the attack with four goals in the game, Gerace had a goal and three assists, Pickard and Spencer each finished with two goals and an assist, and Billy Massett and Luke Stewart both had goals.

Newtown will host Simsbury in another potentially challenging nonconference clash on Saturday, April 11 at 6 pm. Simsbury was a Class L state quarterfinalist last year. It is also Ovarian Cancer Awareness Night.

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