Update: The boys' soccer game on October 26 has been moved from Blue & Gold Stadium to the back practice field at Newtown High School.

Newtown High School’s soccer teams both tied Bethel 3-3 in South-West Conference battles, on October 22 — the girls on the road, and the boys at Blue & Gold Stadium in a Senior Night clash. This was the final conference game for both teams as they get ready for the upcoming SWC playoffs, although the boys have one regular-season game remaining — Joel Barlow of Redding visits Blue & Gold Stadium for a game that counts only in the state standings on Monday, October 26, beginning at 3:45 pm (Newtown edged Barlow 2-1 in their conference clash earlier this fall).

The girls built a 2-0 halftime lead, saw Bethel battle back to seize a 3-2 advantage, then scored late in regulation to salvage the tie. Emma Curtis, Sarah Houle, and Anna Biondi all scored. Biondi headed home the game-tying goal off a Houle corner kick with 9:28 remaining, less than a minute after Bethel logged the go-ahead tally.

Newtown (6-4-3 in conference play) is the sixth seed and will visit third-seeded Weston (9-2-2) in the conference tournament quarterfinals on October 30 or 31. The Nighthawks defeated Weston 1-0 in their regular-season meeting.

Newtown has a full week-plus off from game action until the start of the postseason.

“It could be a blessing, and it could be dangerous,” said Newtown Coach Marc Kenney, who notes that players battling injuries — including Makenna Cerney and Maddie Pirone — will have a chance to get healthy; but any team stands to loose it rhythm and become a bit complacent with such a long layoff.

In the boys’ game, the Nighthawks fell behind 2-0, clawed back for a 3-2 lead, and settled for a draw. Elliot Bennett had two goals and Shane Gattey scored for the Nighthawks.

The boys finish with an SWC record of 9-2-2 to earn the conference’s third seed; Newtown draws sixth-seeded New Fairfield (8-4-1), for an SWC quarterfinal-round matchup, October 30 or 31. As the higher-ranked team, Newtown will host the game. New Fairfield handed the Nighthawks one of their two conference defeats, although that was back on September 11, in the season opener. The Hawks went on to earn points in all but one of their remaining games (a 1-0 nail-biting loss to top-seeded New Milford).

Read more about both Nighthawk teams in their late-season games, and their postseason outlooks in the October 30 print edition of The Bee.