Playoff-style field hockey was on display with a trio of low-scoring, one-goal battles for the Newtown High School squad to close out September.

The Nighthawks followed up their 1-0 loss to New Milford on Sept 23 with a 2-1 victory at Bethel two days later, then took nonconference foe Daniel Hand of Madison to overtime before losing 1-0 on September 28, and ended the month back in South-West Conference action with a 1-0 nail-biter over visiting Pomperaug of Southbury on September 30.

“The past few games have been quality field hockey games. We’ve held possession the majority of the time and had more corners and shots on goal than our opponents; however, we’ve had some difficulty scoring,” Newtown Coach Megan Goyda said.

In the win over Bethel, Ellenoire Schoen scored an unassisted goal off of a rebound and Rachael Albrecht, assisted by Schoen and Abby Ihlefeld, also hit the back of the cage.

“Following Bethel we faced Hand and Pomperaug — both quality teams and we definitely rose to the occasion. We took Hand to overtime in an exciting nonconference battle. Our defensive line really held us together and Riley Alesevich had a great day in goal. Although it was not the outcome we wanted, it was not a game to hang our heads about,” Goyda said.

Newtown bounced back with a big win over Pomperaug to get back to .500 with a 5-5 overall record. Goyda described this as a full team effort in which the Nighthawks dominated the possession game; the ball crossed Newtown’s 25 yard line only a handful of times.

Albrecht, assisted by Francesca Glazer, scored in the third quarter. Newtown mustered plenty of chances, creating 14 penalty corners, but did not capitalize on any of them. Standouts, Goyda said, included Glazer in the midfield showcasing some great stick handling skills and speed on the right side; Schoen commanding the field for the first time at center midfield this season; and Emily O’Neil proving to be an offensive defender moving the ball up the entirety of the field with ease. Albrecht, Ihlefeld, and Lily Ammerman also had great days on the forward line. Evelyn Schoen, Reese Lischuk, and Mo Murphy contributed from the midfield.

“Also important to note our defensive unit did not give a single corner all night. I think that’s a true contributor to our success,” Goyda said of her team’s efforts against Pomperaug. “I really could not be prouder of this team for their showing. They showed up to play and did not let off the gas. I think it will be fun coming off this win against another strong nonconference, versus Ludlowe on Saturday.”

The Nighthawks visit Fairfield Ludlowe Saturday, October 5 at 12:30 pm. They return home Monday, October 7, when Weston visits Blue & Gold Stadium at 5:30 pm.

Sports Editor Andy Hutchison can be reached at andyh@thebee.com.