By Kim J. Harmon

STRATFORD – The Newtown High School girls’ soccer team never expected to have to sweat out a game with Bunnell as much as it did on Tuesday night – but there were a few factors that played a part in the Nighthawks’ pretty tough, 1-0, win.

One referee.

A hard, beat-up field.

And a defensive commitment by Bunnell not to let the likes of sophomore Chelsea Morin or freshman Mary Anders (the top two Newtown scorers, with 31 of the team’s 55 goals) beat them too badly up front.

With those three things mixed together, the Nighthawks found themselves in a real tough predicament. For the first 33 minutes of the first half, the Lady Bulldogs packed the defensive end of the field and continuously cleared balls and clogged the penalty area and paid only modest attention to the idea of attacking the Newtown goal.

But – finally – Morin broke through. Still, she had to muscle her way through three defenders to take a shot – a shot that was low and hard and just inside the right post, past a diving Bunnell goaltender.

It was partially the work of that goaltender, Amanda McCarki, which helped the Lady Bulldogs keep it such a close game for the full 80 minutes. A few strong saves (11 total on the night) and exceptional presence in the penalty box did as much to hold Newtown off as anything else.

Once the second half opened, though, Bunnell was forced to shift away from its defensive focus and put some pressure on the goal. The Newtown defense was taxed, but sophomore Kelley Haines (who out-ran one defender after another to the ball) and senior Kim Helfer (who was, at times, fearless when attacking a free ball) anchored a solid defensive effort. That allowed players like Morgan Haines, Alex Helfer, Carrie Lipnick, Rachel Vontobel, April Scheuerell and Allison Frobey time to keep the offense moving towards the other end of the field, seeking an insurance goal. The strikers, Morin and Anders, had some opportunities but just couldn’t break through.

With Bunnell really turning up the pressure, it could have been a dicey situation because Newtown – with starting goaltender Allison Smith recovering from an injury suffered during warmups – had to go to backup Christina Wolf.

But Wolf was ready. With 33:02 left in the second half, she had to make her first strong save of the game at the left post, off a direct kick from just outside the penalty box. She made another solid save (finishing with four total) a little later on and earned the shutout in her first varsity start.

With one game left on the schedule (Brookfield – on Thursday, after press time), the ‘Hawks – now 12-2-0 on the season – are looking forward to a home game on Saturday in the quarter-finals of the South-West Conference playoffs.

Start time was still iffy at press time.

Two More Wins

Morin scored five goals – to help bring her season total to 23 – in victories over Pomperaug (5-0) and New Milford (6-0).

In the win over Pomperaug, Morin had a goal and two assists. Frobey, Scheuerell, Lipnick and Caroline Kunkel all scored while Anders, VonTobel and Brittany Meier all registered assists. Smith and Amy Doyle shared time in goal and earned the shutout.

In the win over New Milford, Morin scored four times while Anders and Kate Fenton scored one apiece. Morgan Haines, Alex Helfer, Scheuerell, Kim Helfer, Frobey and Stacey Shpunt all registered assists. Smith made three saves to record the shutout.

JVs Boost Mark to 11-1

With wins over Masuk (2-0), Pomperaug (1-0), New Milford (5-1) and Bunnell (2-0), the junior varsity team continued to mirror the success of the upper-level squad, boosting their own record to 11-1-0 on the year.

In the win over Masuk, Kristin Davis and Siobhan Cooper scored while Tara Ryan and Meier registered the assists and in the win over Pomperaug, Kelly Corrigan assisted a Cooper goal.

Cooper (who has 16 goals on the junior varsity level) tallied three in the win over New Milford. Heidi Ekstrom and Corrigan scored as well with Doyle (2), Meier and Kristin Landolfi contributing assists.

In the win over Bunnell, VonTobel and Fenton scored on assists from Davis and Kate Stickles.