NHS Girls’ Soccer Team Comes Back Against Oxford For First Win

By Andy Hutchison

Less than 14 minutes separated the young Newtown High School girls’ soccer team from their third straight game without a win to begin the season.

That turned out to be plenty of time for the up-and-coming Nighthawks to take their first big step and work some magic to earn their first win.

Newtown came from behind to nip Oxford 3-2 on the road on Monday afternoon.

Leave it to a pair of freshmen to score the tying and game-winning goals in the first win for this new-look team. Amy Martin netted the game-tying tally with only 13:48 to play and Brittany Tolla scored on a breakaway with just 10:51 remaining.

“To rally back the way we did — I couldn’t be happier,” NHS Coach Marc Kenney said.

Junior Ali Korchman scored Newtown’s first goal of the afternoon. Kenney pointed out that the Nighthawks were outplaying Oxford and that he felt it was only a matter of time before his team would pull ahead.

As the time on the clock continued to dwindle, Newtown’s chances weren’t looking so good but the Hawks just kept pushing.

The Nighthawks, having replaced seven of their 11 starters from a year ago, had played Brookfield to a scoreless tie in the season opener on September 15, then fell short 2-1 to Lauralton Hall on September 18.

Kenney said during the preseason that this wasn’t a rebuilding year and that he thought the talented newcomers could help the Hawks succeed but knew it would take some time for the players to gel.

“Obviously, a key for us was the ability for our younger players to step up right away given the number of losses we had,” Kenney said. “They’ve really adapted well.”

Kenney said things only stand to get better as the new-to-varsity players gain more experience on the team and at this level.

So far, in only three games, the players have had a taste of every possible game result scenario, having salvaged a tie, been handed a loss and earned a win.

The Nighthawks will return to game action this Saturday, September 26 for a noon kickoff at Pomperaug High in Southbury.

Newtown returns home on September 30 when Immaculate visits Blue & Gold Stadium at 7 pm.