Newtown High School’s field hockey team rolled to a pair of convincing wins and came out on top in another overtime thriller in a trio of mid-October contests. The Nighthawks defeated visiting Brookfield 7-1 on October 13 and toppled host Immaculate of Danbury 6-1 on October 15. Newtown got past host Fairfield Ludlowe 2-1 in overtime the next morning — the team’s second OT triumph after edging Masuk of Monroe 1-0 in extra play earlier this fall.

Ludlowe scored in the first five minutes of the opening quarter before Newtown’s defense locked down. In the third quarter, Izzy Butler tied things with an unassisted tally. Newtown’s defense held strong as Nella Walsh stepped up and cleared the ball out of harm’s way multiple times. Goaltender Cailyn Sullivan made five saves.

It only took less than a minute for Newtown to score in 7 on 7, open field overtime, as was the case in the Masuk game. Erin Shah converted off a corner that was created by Shannon Kelleher adjustment to Ludlowe’s defensive formation. The ball was touched by all six field players, last by Reagan Schoen, before Shah finished it.

“This OT win was literally an all hands on deck win,” Newtown Coach Ellen Goyda said.

Goyda said lightheartedly after the OT win at Masuk that she would bet the house on her team in OT and the Nighthawks made it two-for-two in extra time.

It marked the second game in a row that the Nighthawks fell behind before shutting down the opposition’s offense. In the Immaculate matchup, the Mustangs took a first-quarter lead. In the second quarter, Butler put Newtown on the board with a penalty stroke goal that opened the cage-finding floodgates.

Schoen posted her first career hat-trick; all three goals were assisted by Butler, who scored one of her own, assisted by Kelleher. Katelyn Zaniewski notched the final Newtown tally, off another Kelleher pass. Sullivan made four saves.

“The second half we all played really well. Kaitlyn Zaniewski’s speed and recovery to the ball was too much for Immaculate to handle. Maddy Twitchell and Kelleher had a great game playing strong up the middle and controlling the free hits. Our whole defense led by Maggie LaBanca, Erin Shah, Nella Walsh, and Lexi Bisset all played off each other and that’s our strong point. When we play together we succeed,” Goyda said.

Against Brookfield, Butler led the way with two goals and three assists; Schoen had two goals and an assist; Kelleher and Morgan Melillo both recorded a goal and an assist. Maddy Twitchell had her first varsity goal on Senior Night at Blue & Gold Stadium. Twitchell, a standout defender who is utilized for free hits, has compiled several assists during her career. The Brookfield game marked a reunion on the field with former Nighthawk and Coach Goyda’s daughter, Megan, returning to Blue & Gold as the head coach of the Bobcats (see related story in the October 22 print edition of The Bee and check back for the online posting).

Newtown beat Joel Barlow 2-0 on on October 20 and will host Greenwich on Saturday, October 23 at 10:30 am before closing out the regular season Monday, October 25 at Treadwell Park starting at 4 pm.

Sports Editor Andy Hutchison can be reached at andyh@thebee.com.