By Kim J. Harmon

O

n the soccer field there were some dynamic offensive players – from Colleen Davis and Shannon Rouse to freshman Chelsea Morin – and on the softball field it’s always been about the pitching.

So, it’s kind of easy to see how a person like Kate Bouteiller – a goaltender in the fall and a shortstop in the spring – can sort of blend into the background on the Newtown High School athletic fields.

Kate, 17, is an Unsung Hero.

This spring, she finished up a good softball career by hitting .328 and getting picked first team All-SWC and said, “The season went really well – if we had a couple breaks here or there, we could have gone further.”

That’s cool, but it hasn’t always been that easy for Kate.

When she came up as a freshman, Kate – an infielder at Newtown Middle School – was moved to the outfield because the Nighthawks already had some pretty good infielders (Lindsay Warness and Amanda Giannini leap to mind).

But the following year, she was moved back to the infield and, well, it was a bit of a rocky start.

“It was a big switch,” said Kate, who remembered – even though she didn’t want to – that first game where she booted three or four balls. “But Mr La (Coach Paul LaFrancesca) was really supportive. In practice, I would get ball after ball hit at me and it all worked out in the end.”

And by the time she was a senior, Kate was not only a solid offensive threat, but a defensive stopper as well.

“I felt like a real shortstop this year,” she admitted. “I was glad I made the switch.”

It was nice that it all worked out, too, because Kate had a lot on her plate this spring. She was one of three seniors on a young team and she was picked as the sole captain – a daunting responsibility.

“I was unsure about it,” said Kate, “but they accepted me as the sole captain. And I felt the other seniors, Amanda (Marsilio) and Laura (Howard), were the second captain and they supported me. We were a little trio.”

Kate – and the little trio – led a team that finished 11-10 on the season and fell a little short of the South-West Conference playoffs. The ‘Hawks did qualify for the CIAC Class LL state tournament, but were shutout (and no hit), 5-0, by Westhill in the opening round.

But that’s okay.

“No regrets,” said Kate. “I couldn’t have asked to be on a better team. We didn’t reach some of our goals, but we had those teams that we wanted to beat and it was nice to accomplish that.”

Kate accomplished something on the soccer field, as well. As one of three captains (with Rouse and Davis), she helped lead the team on to an 14-3-2 record and right into the quarter-final round of the CIAC Class LL state tournament.

There, the ‘Hawks were beaten, 2-0, by Simsbury.

Now that was a loss that could have really bothered Kate. She allowed one goal after slipping in the mud in front of the net (it had been drizzling all day) and allowed another goal that clanged off the cross bar and then bounced off her back (she was still in the air, her arm upraised, attempting to make the save).

But Kate is strong.

“I was still happy with the way we played,” said Kate, “and the way we stepped up. I would have loved to win that one, but it just wasn’t our game. A couple of breaks, we could have been right there.”

It is the right attitude because as a captain – and, especially, as a goaltender – Kate has a larger responsibility than just stopping shots.

“I just have to keep in mind,” she said, “that when my head drops, the whole team could get down.”

Kate is heading on to Northeasten University in Boston and has a lot of memories and a lot of people to thank.

“I think my best memories will be of my teammates,” she said. “They have definitely made my experience what it is. When I was a freshman, the captains of the soccer and softball teams really took me under their wing. I can’t say how much that meant to me. They had awfully big shoes to fill, but I learned a lot from them.”

And then there are her parents, Roger and Ann-Marie.

“I have to thank my parents for always supporting me,” she said, “always carting me everywhere and being there for me. I’m glad they never let anything bother me and jeopardize the team.”

Kate Bouteiller hardly jeopardized her teams. It was her skill that made those teams stronger.