Late Comeback Sparks Pre-Playoff Confidence

By Andy Hutchison

The Newtown High School girls’ lacrosse team had beaten its previous five opponents by a combined 76 goals — a whopping 15-plus differential per game. The Nighthawks, in fact, have dominated the competition in the South-West Conference all season long. The Hawks had won eight games in a row overall. Then came Monday’s nonconference clash at Treadwell Park with East Lyme. Close throughout, the contest was East Lyme’s for the taking. The visitors were ahead 11-9 with less than three minutes to play. But Newtown had other ideas. After a timeout, the Hawks got to every loose ball, won key faceoffs, and scored three goals in a span of just 45 seconds to come back for a dramatic 12-11 win.

Newtown improved to 13-2 overall heading into the regular season finale at Bethel on Thursday (after The Bee went to press). East Lyme dropped to 10-2.

Lisa Vendel, Libby Feltch, and Caitlin Brophy all scored in the waning minutes to steal a win. Vendel found the net with 2:42 remaining, Feltch took a pass from Stephanie Paproski and scored with 2:28 left to pull the Hawks even, then Brophy hit the net with 1:57 to play. Suddenly Newtown went from running out of time to trying to run out the time. The Hawks used great pass work to play keep away for most of the final two-minutes and dodged a bullet when a last-second East Lyme shot caromed off the post.

“That was a big win for us,” said the team’s leading scorer, Courtney Gleason, who was guarded closely throughout the game but still managed two goals.

Gleason said it was frustrating to be under pressure throughout the game and credited her teammates for coming through.

“They really stepped it up,” Gleason said.

Vendel had four goals, but had to work hard to find the net. Newtown took 29 shots on goal and had a

hard time beating East Lyme’s netminder, Rashelle McLellan.

“Every time I tried to shoot at a different spot her stick would be there or her body would be there,” Vendel said.

Well, not every time. After all, Vendel did find the net a small handful of times.

“It felt good,” she said of netting her fourth, which sparked that late string of goals.

Win, lose, or draw, it was important for Newtown to have a tough game late in the season as they prepare for the SWC and Division I state playoffs.

“We haven’t had a competitive game in two weeks,” Coach Maura Fletcher said.

Newtown’s last nonblowout win was a 14-12 win over New Milford on April 24. Both losses were to nonconference competition (Glastonbury and Wilton). Fletcher scheduled games against tough non-SWC opponents to help sharpen the team’s game for the playoffs. Newtown may have gotten something out of those two losses, facing better teams for a change, but winning a down-to-the-wire nonconference game against a tough team as the Hawks did on Monday should provide some extra confidence as the playoffs approach.

“It’s great for them to know they have the ability to beat a great team,” Fletcher said.

Undefeated in conference play, Newtown will have a bye in the opening round of next week’s SWC tourney and is a — if not the — favorite to win the tournament once again. NHS is the three-time defending SWC champion.

The state playoffs are another story. Newtown was eliminated in the first round of states a year ago when the team went undefeated. This season, the Hawks are again a threat to win it all, despite the loss of six graduates and a couple players to early season injuries.

Newtown is ranked fourth in the state and boasts an explosive offense, tough defense, and strong goaltending from Lisa Isabella. If Newtown can bring the level of play it put on display late in the second half of Monday’s comeback, the Hawks know they have a good chance to win the SWC and perhaps state tourneys.

“I really felt like we played together as a team,” Isabella said after Monday’s win.