Newtown High School’s field hockey team made it three straight shutout victories, following up a 3-0 win at Sheehan of Wallingford on October 8 with a 6-0 win at Brookfield on October 9 and a 5-0 triumph at New Fairfield on October 14. The Nighthawks carried a four-game winning streak and 9-6 overall record into Wednesday’s regular-season finale at Immaculate of Danbury, a 2-1 defeat.

In the win over Brookfield, the Hawks dominated as much as the scoreboard showed.

“We passed the ball nicely, used our open space, and finished strong in the circle. Everyone was able to get on the field and get in some quality minutes,” Newtown Coach Megan Goyda said. “Great job all around.”

Newtown’s defensive line of Emily O’Neil, Amanda Faircloth, and Kayla Locke had a strong showing. Riley Alesevich had a great day in goal with some quality saves.

Rachael Albrecht scored four times to lift the offense. Albrecht had a goal assisted by Francesca Glazer and Abby Ihlefeld, and hit the back of the cage on a setup by Ihlefeld and Mo Murphy, was assisted by Reese Lischuk, and had an unassisted tally. Lily Ammerman was assisted by Ihlefeld and Ellenoire Schoen, and Ihlefeld scored.

Against New Fairfield, the defense again did its thing. The Hawks came out flat, Goyda said, before settling in during the last few minutes of the opening half.

“We talked things over at halftime and flipped a switch. We started keeping it simple and really working off of one another. It, again, was a beautiful game to watch,” the coach said.

In the third quarter Murphy found the back of the cage off a rebound after Ihlefeld sent a shot in on a corner; Ihlefeld and Schoen recorded assists. The scoring floodgates opened in the fourth. Ihlefeld finished a gorgeous one-on-one with the goalie on a low shot to the corner, set up by Schoen. Albrecht then scored after Newtown was awarded a penalty stroke, putting the ball into the top right corner. Albrecht scored again with assists from Ihlefeld and Evelyn Schoen. And Evelyn Schoen scored her first varsity goal on a corner, assisted by her sister Ellenoire and Ihlefeld who inserted.

“I think this game gives us great momentum and confidence going into our game against Immaculate on Wednesday. We’re going to have to dig deep and fight but it’s definitely attainable. All around this was a great full team win. I’m very proud of them,” Goyda said.

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