By Kim J. Harmon

WOODBRIDGE – With the song having fallen on a sour note, the Newtown High School girls’ soccer team was ready to sing a different tune in the second round of the CIAC Class LL state tournament on Wednesday afternoon.

The Nighthawks dropped their final game of the regular season (2-1 to Brookfield in overtime) and then the first game of the South-West Conference tournament (1-0 to New Fairfield) and another loss – the third in a row – would really put a damper on what had been a very strong season.

But the 9th-ranked Nighthawks went after the 8th-ranked Lady Spartans of Amity Regional High School in Woodbridge and came away with a 3-1 victory.

“We wanted it pretty bad,” said sophomore striker Chelsea Morin, who – oddly enough – did not score in the win over Amity yet still leads the team with 23 goals. “It was nice the way the team really played together.”

From Kelley Haines, Kim Helfer and fill-in goaltender Caroline Kunkel in the rear to Morgan Haines and Alex Helfer in the middle and Morin and Mary Anders up front, the team dynamic was unshaken and resolute.

“States is one (loss) and out and we wanted to keep going,” said senior co-captain Morgan Haines, who had been disappointed with the way the ‘Hawks had been playing of late. “We haven’t been winning the 50-50 balls – like we did today – and we haven’t been putting people away.”

That changed on Wednesday.

Kristen Davis, April Scheuerell and Carrie Lipnick all scored to pump up the Newtown offense. Both Davis and Lipnick scored off corner kicks (thus, Alex Helfer earned a pair of assists) and Scheuerell – with a little crafty footwork – scored off a corner throw-in by Allison Frobey.

Davis scored after the initial feeling out period – as Amity and Newtown (which both received first round byes) tested each other’s mettle. It was game largely played in the midfield, with only an occasional foray on either side into the penalty area. Alex “Gator” Helfer and Frobey both had modest chances and Kunkel – subbing in for injured starter Allison Smith – was tested just once.

Then Davis finally put Newtown on the board, getting a head on a corner kick lofted nicely into the box by Gator. It was a soft header, but it took Amity goaltender Christina Davis by surprise. Later in the half, Frobey – with her (un-)patented throw in – started a sequence that ended when Scheuerell (who spent most of the season recovering from an injury) went to her left foot and slammed home a hard shot to put the ‘Hawks ahead, 2-0.

Newtown was dominating the game, but in the second half a surprise shot by Lauren Erwin (after it appeared as if a free ball was going to be cleared out of the penalty area by the ‘Hawks defense) beat Kunkel to her left and trimmed the lead to 2-1.

All of a sudden, Amity had a little extra juice. But Lipnick put the match away off a corner kick about seven minutes later. The ‘Hawks attempted to further expand the lead, but shots by Morin and Gator both hammered off the cross bar.

It was a good win for a struggling team – but the reward for it was a Friday afternoon meeting with the No. 1 team in the state, Trumbull. The Lady Cadets (16-0-0) received a bye right into the Class LL quarterfinals.

“I’m looking forward to playing Trumbull,” said Morin, who wasn’t on the team two years ago when the Lady Cadets blanked the ‘Hawks, 2-0, in the second round of the CIAC Class L state tournament. “It will be a good judge of where we are in the state.”

Haines added, “We just have to play our game. We won’t be scared.”

And if the season ends in Trumbull on Friday, at least the ‘Hawks (13-4-0) were able to redeem themselves a bit for the way the SWC season came to a close.

CIAC CLASS LL

Rankings

 

1.      Trumbull                    16-0-0

2.      Masuk                        15-1-0

3.      Southington               14-1-1

4.      Bristol Central           14-1-1

5.      Fairfield                     14-2-0

6.      Simsbury                    11-1-4

7.      South Windsor           13-3-0

8.      Amity Regional           13-3-0

9.      Newtown                    12-3-0

10.    Mercy                         11-2-3

11.    Norwich Free              12-3-1

12.    Glastonbury               12-3-1

13.    Naugatuck                  11-3-2

14.    Danbury                     10-5-1

15.    Newington                  10-6-0

16.    Windsor                       7-4-5

17.    Enrico Fermi                9-6-1

18.    William Hall                 8-6-2

19.    Greenwich                    8-7-0

20.    Manchester                  8-8-0