Newtown High Field Hockey Team Experiencing Up And Down Season

By Andy Hutchison

Newtown High School’s field hockey team, like many teams, has been on a roller coaster ride of wins and losses since the season began.

Fortunately, for the Nighthawks, this ride has had slightly more ups than downs to this point.

Newtown is 6-4 overall,after a 3-0 win at Immaculate of Danbury on October 13.

The Nighthawks have won two of three following a 2-0 win over Lauralton Hall at Treadwell Park on October 9 and a 2-0 defeat to nonconference foe Haddam-Killingworth on October 12.

The win against Hall was big for the Hawks who, after winning two straight, lost a pair of 1-0 affairs to perhaps their two toughest rivals, New Fairfield and Pomperaug.

Shelley Davies, assisted by Hannah Koch, scored the first goal and Lisa Vendel assisted Katie Canavan’s late-game tally to give Newton a 2-0 lead.

Newtown worked the ball around well and the players seemed to be on the same page in their passing and defensive game throughout most of this damp afternoon.

“They went for every ball that was questionable between either team and the chemistry is back. Their passes were absolutely amazing today. We worked on that all day yesterday,” NHS Coach Amanda Hadgraft said after the game. “They really played together as a team today, instead of ten individuals, which is great.”

Davies, who shook off a ball to the face and hustled from start to finish, found the win to be fulfilling.

“I’m so happy because the past couple games our chemistry hasn’t been there,” Davies said. “We played with so much heart and so much intensity.”

Hadgraft has emphasized the importance of having that heart and she said this was the best effort from a standpoint of showing that heart and teamwork thus far this season.

Newtown will try for its second straight win Friday, October 16, home game with Watertown at Treadwell at 3:45 pm.

Newtown has five games remaining, culminating with an October 28 home date with Pomperaug, the team NHS defeated in last year’s South-West Conference title game.

Whether Newtown can get back to the pinnacle match, or into the conference playoffs for that matter, hinges on the team’s ability to maintain a high level of play as the regular season winds down.

“I think if we keep up the intensity and play with heart, then we’ll do really well,” defender Annie Fletcher said.