Newtown High Field Hockey Team Gets Spark From Coach, JV Players

By Andy Hutchison

REDDING — Following a 1-0 loss to Bethel on September 22, Amanda Hadgraft believed her team was going through the motions and needed a little spark. So, in an effort to motivate her defending South-West Conference champion players, the Newtown High School field hockey coach called up some junior varsity recruits for practice last week and gave the up-and-coming players a chance to earn some varsity game-playing experience.

And it seemed to pay off.

The Nighthawks edged an upstart Joel Barlow team 2-1 on the road on September 25. Sophomore Katelyn Kean, one of those new-to-varsity call-ups, netted the first Newtown goal. Junior Katie Canavan scored a dramatic game-winner late in regulation.

Hadgraft believed her team should have come out on top against Bethel and let her players know how she felt.

“It should have been a win. We should have played harder. One of the things we’ve been struggling with this season is finding the heart and really trying to put everything we have into what they’re doing on the field — and they finally got it [Friday],” Hadgraft said.

“It was like everybody was going through the motions,” Hadgraft the coach added. “I needed girls who wanted it. [Kean] ended up proving she deserved to be there and scored.”

The coach used several other reserve and JV players, but also played her regulars and they came through in a big way.

Canavan, a standout returnee, scored the game-winner on a picture-perfect passing play — with only ten seconds remaining in regulation. Lisa Vendel made a pass to Izzy Gleason, who crossed the ball to Canavan who lifted a shot past Barlow goaltender Amanda Macchio to lift the Hawks to a dramatic win.

“I know toward the end of the game we get rallied up,” said Canavan, adding that the Hawks beat New Milford on a late goal in the second game of the season. “I knew we could do it.”

Macchio made ten saves and her counterpart, Jess Balsano, was equally as tough to beat as she came up with nine saves in this game.

“It feels great to win after that,” said Balsano, referring to the Bethel game. “But I’m just happy we finally found our hearts and now we’re actually playing our game just like last season.”

Newtown and Barlow are getting accustomed to these sort of nail-biters. Last year, in the SWC Tournament, Newtown prevailed in penalty strokes after the teams battled through regulation and three overtimes without finding a winner.

It looked as though this game was headed for OT before Canavan dashed Barlow’s hopes. Newtown improved to 3-1 this season and carried its winning ways into its next game, a 3-1 win over Brookfield on Tuesday to get to 4-1. Barlow, meanwhile, left the field with a record of 1-2-1 thanks to a strong all-around effort by the Nighthawks. Hadgraft was pleased with the intensity up and down the field.

“Everything they did in this game reflected the fact they still love the game and found their heart again,” the coach said.