By Kim J. Harmon
By Kim J. Harmon
Down 3-0 to Bunnell in the first half, there ought to have been more of an air of stunned disbelief hanging over Bruce Jenner Stadium last Wednesday night, but the Lady Nighthawks were handling it simply as a matter of course.
It was as if they knew that the Lady Bulldogs wouldnât be able to contain the Newtown offense very much longer. The Lady Nighthawks, after all, had more than their share of opportunities while Bunnell was building up its lead, but just couldnât finish.
And, no, the Lady Bulldogs couldnât contain the Newtown offense any longer. Down 3-0 in the first half was just the spot for the âHawks to begin their comeback and with two goals late in the first half and three more early in the second half, the âHawks raced back for a 5-3 South-West Conference victory.
Shannon Rouse scored three of those goals and Colleen Davis added two of her own (both now have 11 for the season) as Newtown raised its record to 6-2-1.
In the first half, the âHawks were doing fine on offense, but the âDogs got a nice run down the right wing and two lucky breaks to take that 3-0 lead. Bunnell took a 1-0 lead on a nice run down the wing with a nice cross to the box, but the Lady Bulldogs went up 2-0 when a deflected ball gets by Newtown goaltender Kate Bouteiller and then went up 3-0 when a Bunnell forward first beat Bouteiller to a ball and then snuck a shot past a Newtown defender to the net.
Bunnell didnât sustain a drive on the net, but took advantage when the opportunities presented themselves.
But with the way Newtown was passing the ball and with the relative softness of the Bunnell defense, it was only a matter of time. Bouteiller started things off with a nice clearing kick to midfield, which got headed up to Davis, who corralled the ball on the run, got behind the Bunnell defense, and then tapped a shot under the goaltenderâs hand.
Soon after, Jessica Oswald punched a corner kick right to the near post, but the goaltender had trouble handling it. As she lost control, Rouse managed to push the ball into the net.
The Bunnell lead was cut to 3-2.
It wasnât long, after the second half opened, that Newtown tied up the score. A break through the middle of the defense, a nice pass from Davis to Rouse at the left of the box, and a shot to the far post and the score was knotted, 3-3.
A minute later, Rouse found the ball amid a scramble in front of the net and popped a low shot with her left foot that found the goal. A few moments later, Davis hammered a shot that got deflected in the box and off the hand of the Bunnell goalie for the 5-3 lead.
The win came after a heartbreaking 2-1 loss in double overtime to Bethel on Monday night.
Beth Garufi scored off a direct kick from 25 yards out with less than 30 seconds left to play in the second overtime and kept the Lady Wildcats unbeaten at 8-0-1. Bethel went ahead, 1-0, in the game on a goal in the 57th minute, but Davis added a goal about two minutes later to tie the score.