Newtown High Girls’ Soccer Team Edged In Title Game Heartbreaker

By Andy Hutchison

Newtown High School’s girls’ soccer team was only ten and a half minutes away from avenging its only regular-season loss, to Immaculate of Danbury, with so much more on the line — in the South-West Conference tournament title game at Blue & Gold Stadium on a frosty November 6 evening. Then came two Immaculate corner kicks, both of which led to goals a little more than three minutes apart, sending the Mustangs to a 2-1 comeback win and the distinction of conference champs.

The second-seeded Nighthawks thoroughly dominated the first half, and controlled the play in much of the second half, but top-seeded Immaculate cashed in on its only two corners of the game and celebrated on Newtown’s home turf. Blue & Gold was the host to this year’s girls’ and boys’ championship games and fans, bundled up and armed with hot chocolate and blankets, packed the stands for the double header.

The Nighthawks broke a scoreless tie less than four minutes out of the halftime break when Melissa Buccino took a feed from Tressa Scott and weaved through the Immaculate defense, making a cutback en route to a one-one opportunity against Immaculate goalkeeper Ashley Houghton. Buccino kicked the ball into the low far side of the net with 36:06 to play, sparking a Nighthawk celebration that — for the next nearly 20 minutes — looked like it would be the precursor to an even bigger NHS collective jump for joy.

As the scoreboard clock ticked away, Immaculate’s chances were dwindling, but the Hawks couldn’t hang on as Paige Davis sent corner kicks — one from each side — within a few yards of the goal line. After a mad scramble for the bouncing ball, Rachael Raffini booted home the equalizer with 10:24 to play; and Natalia Diaz one-timed the go-ahead net-finder with just 7:09 remaining.

“Our nemesis this entire year has been corner kicks and we don’t do a good job of defending them and it bit us today twice — and that was the difference in the game,” Newtown Coach Marc Kenney said. “I mean the game was even. Immaculate played hard, we played hard. They just scored last.”

Newtown had a multitude of chances to pad the lead. Bridget Power took a long range shot that bounced and clanked off the post to right of Houghton. The post saved that one, and Immaculate keeper Houghton made 11 stops by the time the night was complete. Newtown’s Brittany Tolla used her blazing speed to break through the defense and create chances multiple times, and there were a few late-game scrambles inside Immaculate’s 18-yard box but the Hawks couldn’t cash in.

“We knew it was going to be a battle,” said Immaculate Coach Nelson Mingachos, noting that a penalty kick tally was the difference in Immaculate’s 1-0 regular-season win over NHS.

“I’m definitely proud of the way that we played,” said Kenney, whose team also lost in the conference title game a year ago. “To get back to the championship two years in a row is a hard thing.”

The Hawks earned a hard-fought 1-0 win over No. 3 Masuk of Monroe in the tourney semifinals, at frigid Blue & Gold Stadium late Sunday afternoon.

Sarah Lynch finally found a hole in the wall that was Masuk goalkeeper Megan Fitzgerald, when Lynch put a low shot past the charging keeper with just 3:30 left in the game. Brenna Kelly sent a ball into the middle and Lynch outraced a Masuk defender to gather control before cashing in for the decisive net-finder.

Kenney’s Nighthawks narrowly beat No. 7 Pomperaug of Southbury, 1-0, in the quarterfinals back on October 26 before Superstorm Sandy and her aftermath put a week-plus-long hold on game action. The Nighthawks returned to practice on November 2, with just two days to prepare for Fitzgerald and company.

The Masuk keeper came up with several saves on aggressive plays in which she came out to challenge Newtown players, and logged eight stops by the time the afternoon-turned-evening was complete. It wasn’t enough thanks to Lynch, who was mobbed by her teammates both after the goal and after the final buzzer. Newtown keeper Caitlin Yakush made seven saves of her own, including a tremendous diving stop in the first half.