Nighthawk Lacrosse Teams Go Deep Into State Tourneys
Nighthawk Lacrosse Teams Go Deep Into State Tourneys
By Andy Hutchison
Both of Newtown High Schoolâs lacrosse teams were fueled by past postseason results to make statements in their respective state tournaments this spring.
The girls were coming off their eighth straight South-West Conference title, but had not gotten through the state tourneyâs quarterfinal round in each of the last three years and have been hungry to experience the same success theyâve maintained at the conference level in the state tourney.
The 2011 SWC champion boys, meanwhile, were shooting for some wins following a semifinal-round exit from this yearâs conference tourney, not to mention four straight years of state quarterfinal-round eliminations.
Newtown Highâs girlsâ and boysâ squads â both No. 2 seeds in state tournament play this year â avoided upsets in the early- and mid-tourney rounds, and each advanced to Wednesdayâs Class L state semifinals (after The Bee sports section went to press. Check NewtownBee.com for updates). Regardless of the outcomes, it has been a memorable and impressive â perhaps redeeming on some levels â campaign for both Nighthawk teams.
The girls pulled away to topple No. 15 Trumbull 19-5 in the first round on May 31 (Tressa Scott and Meredith Bridges both netted four goals in the rout), then nipped No. 10 Glastonbury 13-11 in the quarters on June 4. NHS had beaten Glastonbury 10-8 during the regular season.
Maura Fletcher, coach of the NHS girls, noted that a tough shooting day for her team made the quarterfinal round outcome a little too close for comfort. Erin Kenning, whom Fletcher said had a particularly good performance, had four goals and Julia Trudell added three.
NHS defensive standout Kaitlin VosWinkel held All American attacker Katie Devito to two goals. âThat was her job and she did it well,â said Fletcher, adding that Cassie Ekstrom and Anna Northrop continue to shine on the defensive end of the field.
The Nighthawks earned the right to take on No. 3 Greenwich for the opportunity to reach the Saturday, June 9, championship game.
Seeded second in the SWC tourney this year, the boysâ team was upset by third-seeded Weston in the conference semis. Glenn Adams, coach of the boysâ squad, said the team may have had too much of an expectation to advance in the conference tourney and that it hurt his team. âThey learned from that and I told them they still have another chance,â Adams said.
That chance began with a first-round state tourney matchup with No. 15 Norwalk. The Nighthawks, advanced with a 13-8 win at Blue & Gold Stadium on May 30.
The Nighthawks got five goals from Justin Brophy, three of the stick of Trey Trudell, and two each from Graham Derrickson and Dan Hebert. Newtown trailed 2-1 after one quarter but outscored the Bears 7-2 in the second to establish an 8-4 halftime lead.
A key sequence occurred late in the first half. Norwalk trailed 7-4 and threatened to cut the deficit to two in the waning seconds, but Nighthawk goaltender Evan Isaacs (12 saves in the game) made a big stop and the Hawks scored in transition with only two seconds showing on the scoreboard clock. Defender Jack Kearney picked up the ball and raced up field just in time to set up Trudell for a goal.
Norwalk hung close and trailed by just two late in the third quarter, but Brophy extended the lead to 11-8 heading into the fourth with a net-finder with only 21 seconds left in the third. Derrickson added a goal only 28 seconds into the fourth for a 12-8 advantage. Hebert capped the scoring less than two minutes into the final quarter.
Then came a 15-10 triumph over visiting Brien McMahon of Norwalk, the No. 10 seed, in the quarterfinals on June 2.
The boys had plenty of reasons not to take McMahon for granted. Newtown was the top seed in last yearâs state bracket, but saw No. 8 Simsbury shock them in the quarterfinals.
Against McMahon, the Nighthawks jumped out to a 5-0 first-quarter lead en route to advancing to the semifinals. Brophy scored six times and Hebert had five goals and four assists to lead the way. Adams said his athletes played hard and executed in the first two rounds of states, leading to the winning ways.
âItâs definitely been a fun ride. Itâs what we talk about all year. We talk about getting to this time and being in these moments â thatâs the fun part. Thatâs the time when it counts,â Adams said.
The Nighthawks were scheduled to face No. 3 Ridgefield on Wednesday for the right to play in the June 9 championship game.