By Kim J. Harmon

MILFORD – For the first 15 minutes of their South-West Conference match with Lauralton Hall – perhaps the most important match of the 1999 season – the Lady Nighthawks were in communicado.

Blame it on a late bus, blame it on the long ride to Milford, or blame it on the officials who were insistent on starting the game 15 minutes earlier than the start time the two schools had already agreed upon, but the fact of it was the ‘Hawks slept through the first 10 minutes of the game.

And in that 15 minutes, they fell into a 2-0 hole.

Although it was not an insurmountable deficit, it nevertheless proved to be the difference as the ‘Hawks fell, 4-3, to Lauralton Hall and all but saw their SWC playoff hopes go up in smoke.

“For the first 15 minutes, we weren’t there,” said head coach John Kostelis, “but anyone who saw the game could see that we dominated the rest of the way. The girls played well, but it’s tough when we have to start the game with only 15 minutes of practice.”

After dropping a tough, 1-0, game to Masuk last Friday night, the ‘Hawks desperately needed a win over Hall to vault past Brookfield into the position for the fourth and final playoff spot.

And it looked, early on, as if most certainly was not going to happen.

Just 5:32 into the game, Stacey Zelek received a cross in the box from the end line and had an open lane to punch a left-footed shot to the upper left corner of the net for a 1-0 Hall lead. A defensive lapse by Newtown had allowed Hall to get the ball in good position down the sideline.

Less than nine minutes later, a long direct kick perfectly placed by Rachel Kennedy under the bar and over the outstretched hands of Newtown goaltender Kate Bouteiller put Lauralton Hall on top, 2-0.

But the ‘Hawks had already proved – a week or so ago, against Bunnell – that no lead was really insurmountable. Sure, Hall entered the game with an 11-1-1 record, but what did that matter?

It was soon after that second Lauralton Hall goal that the Newtown offense – which simply loved to attack the middle of the field – starting finding its rhythm. It was superior ball movement (a pass from Jessica Oswald to Kendall Zimmerman to Morgan Haines) that enabled the ‘Hawks to shave one goal off the Lauralton Hall lead when Haines bombed a shot from outside the box to the far post at the 26:51 mark.

Hall was still going to the ball hard and attacking the wings hard, trying to free up Kennedy, but less than 10 minutes later, at the 35:24 mark, Shannon Rouse struck for the ‘Hawks. She gathered in a beautiful pass from Zimmerman, slipped right through the Hall defense, and ripped a shot from nearly the same place as the first time and tied the score at 2-2.

The ‘Hawks were on a roll – finally getting to the ball and turning the flow of the game to their advantage. But early in the second half, Hall took a 3-2 lead on a corner kick that was headed and deflected twice before crossing the end line.

It seemed like a crushing blow, at the moment, but soon after Rouse tossed a long throw in into the box, watched as it glanced off the head of Oswald right to the foot of Erin Doyle, who punched a quick shot inside the near post for the 3-3 equalizer.

But Hall apparently was not to be denied. Late in the second half, a corner was struck to the far post where Katherine Trawinski got a foot on the ball. Bouteiller made the stop, but was unable to control. The ball rolled up and over her, hit the post, and rebounded right back to Trawinski who found the net for the 4-3 Hall lead.

Still, Newtown did not give up – right when it could have. With only seconds left, a scramble in front of the net found the Lauralton Hall goalie far outside the net and the ball free in the box. But the Hall defense clambered back and was able to stop a point-blank shot from Morgan Haines.

It was the last threat.

“You’re looking at a few moments there when we really could have done something,” said coach Kostelis, who admitted he was still upset about the lack of preparation time. But with the SWCs seemingly out of reach (mathematically, the chance is still there), he added, “We’ll just have to get ready for states now.”