Newtown High School’s girls’ lacrosse team overcame an 8-3 deficit to shock host Bethel 11-10, on May 12 and, in doing so, hope they’ve started on a path of recovering from a 3-8 start to the campaign to qualify for the conference playoffs.

The Nighthawks now own a one-win edge and a tiebreaker advantage on Bethel as they battle to qualify for the six-team South-West Conference tournament.

Julia Shugrue scored five goals, Brianna Sclafani netted three, and Charli Condon, Nevan Gattey, and Lauren Carrino also hit the back of the net for the Nighthawks.

Trailing 5-2 at the intermission, the Nighthawks didn’t get off to a great start to begin the second half, falling behind 6-2. After the Hawks back to within three, the Wildcats extended their lead to five with a couple of quick tallies. Then the comeback began.

Gattey scored the first of five unanswered goals, and Condon’s free position strike got the Hawks back to within three; it was 8-5 less than four minutes into the frenetic second half. Shugrue took a nice pass from Condon to make it 8-6 with 18:15 to play, and Shugrue trimmed the deficit to just one less than a minute later. The goal was set up by a Carrino interception in the Bethel end of the field. Timeout Wildcats.

Bethel couldn’t stop Newtown’s momentum. Sclafani evened the score at 8-8 with a goal only 21 seconds following the timeout. It was a brand new game with 17:02 to play.

The Wildcats reclaimed the lead, 9-8, with 13:15 left, and Shugrue set up Sclafani for another clutch net-finder to tie things up, with 9:37 showing on the scoreboard clock.

Shugrue clanked a shot off the post and Condon was denied from in close, but the Nighthawks kept plugging away. Shugrue made a nifty spin move to get to the net for the go-ahead tally. It was 10-9 NHS with just 5:23 left. Bethel took another timeout and threatened to tie the score, but Newtown goaltender Lizzy Hodge made one of her six saves to preserve the slim lead with just over three minutes remaining. The Hawks took more than a minute and a half off the clock before Sclafani extended the lead to 11-9 with 1:28 left.

After the Hawks took a timeout, Bethel gave itself a chance with a goal with 1:11 left, but Newtown’s strong defense closed the door.

The Nighthawks still have four games remaining, including a pair against SWC foes, fellow Division I team Joel Barlow of Redding, and DII team Immaculate of Danbury. Bethel, meanwhile, still has three games to go, including contests with DI team Weston and DII squad Notre Dame-Fairfield.