For most soccer teams, protecting a slim lead for less than ten minutes might not seem like all that much time. But when Newtown’s Sarah Houle banged home a shot off the goal post with about eight minutes to play, the time between the goal and the final whistle probably seemed like an eternity for the Nighthawks.

Newtown preserved a 1-0 win over Bunnell of Stratford, at Treadwell Park, on September 17. It marked the third time in as many games to start the season that the Hawks struck late to break a tie to score a victory; the first two came in the final half minute and two-plus minutes of regulation, respectively, making Houle’s second game-decider of the fall seem far less dramatic than her first winner — when she lifted Newtown to a 3-2 win over New Fairfield with only seconds remaining — as well as Alana Murray’s late-game clincher in a 3-2 win over Brookfield in game two.

“It’s really tense. We start to get a little nervous — then we tend to push through,” Houle said. “It’s just nice for all of our hard work in games to pay off.”

Last year, the Nighthawks settled for five ties, and that proved costly as they failed to qualify for the South-West Conference playoffs for the first time in the program’s history. Newtown Coach Marc Kenney is thrilled to see his team, at least in the early going, eek out these close ones. Kenney, however, wouldn’t mind if things were a little less dramatic.

“At least we’re moving in the right direction,” he said, alluding to the fact a bit more time has been on the game clock, with each game, when his team has scored the decisive goal.

The Nighthawks kept moving in the right direction and improved to 4-0 with a win the team didn’t have to sweat out, for a change — a 4-1 victory over Holy Cross, at Blue & Gold Stadium, on September 19. Makenna Cerney and Houle both scored twice, and Houle and Camryn Cicarelli had assists. Newtown surrendered the first goal, but scored twice in a span of about two minutes and pulled away. Kenney had an opportunity to get reserves into this game, and the Hawks had contributions from up and down the lineup.

In Newtown’s return to SWC action, against Weston, on September 21, it was back to the same old late-game excitement for the Hawks. Cerney broke a scoreless tie when she kicked the ball in off a Houle corner kick with, what else, about eight minutes to play.

“It’s a huge win for us. I’m super excited about our performance,” said Kenney, noting that Weston returned 17 seniors from its state Class M runner-up lineup, and is perhaps the favorite in the SWC.

Newtown’s coach said Cicarelli and Maddy Sieber were strong defensively, and added that goalkeeper Meghan Doyle was clutch in goal, especially in the final minutes when she preserved the shutout. “She made three or four big-time saves,” Kenney said of his goalkeeper’s late-game efforts.

“It’s a little tense,” the coach said of the nail-biters, after the Bunnell game, even before the clash with Weston went down to the wire. “I think this might be how it’s going to be. They’re resilient and they fight — maybe they’re a second half team.”

Kenney, in the preseason, noted that the SWC is as competitive as it’s ever been. There are no — or very few — expected wins for any team in the conference. Couple this parity with Newtown’s propensity to pull out close contests, and this stands to be a battle-filled but also a successful campaign for a squad that lost eight graduates a year ago.

Newtown’s coach also said, before the season commenced, that his lineup would have to be tougher mentally and physically to improve on last year’s 6-5-5 mark.

So far, so good. The team, it stands to reason, has a mental edge over the opposition since those tense, tight games don’t rattle the Hawks. And its physicality was on display in the win over Bunnell.

Newtown, particularly after halftime, out worked Bunnell for 50-50 balls and dominated the flow of play.

“I think we were physical. I think we really showed we wanted to win,” Kenney said after the game.

Houle got a loose ball near midfield, dribbled toward the goal, and aimed a low shot off the post to the left of Bunnell’s goalkeeper and into the net.

You could sense the goal coming, not only because of what transpired in the first two games of the year, but also because the Nighthawks applied more and more offensive pressure as the game wore on. Murray nailed a free kick opportunity, from well beyond the 18-yard box, off the crossbar, after Houle’s net-finder.

Kenney would like to see a little stronger play earlier in games. “We tend to start a little slow — not poorly,” the coach notes.

Newtown’s winning ways may be attributed to strong play throughout the lineup — including those on the bench.

The offense has been led by Houle, Murray, and Cerney, the midfield is anchored by captains Sieber and Maddie Pirone; and the defense is anchored by Cassidy Kortze and Marissa Thill. Doyle has played well; she was aggressive and raced out to the top of the 18-yard box to slide for the ball to break up a Bunnell attack and preserve the win, and came away with six saves in the game.

“I’m so impressed with the collective effort and the desire to support each other,” Kenney said, adding that team members who get less playing time than they might want, contribute both in practice and during games because of the encouragement they offer.

“They’re part of it, and they work hard,” the coach said.

The Hawks were scheduled to carry their 5-0 mark into a game against New Milford, at Treadwell Park, on Thursday, September 24, beginning at 3:45 pm. The Hawks will visit Watertown in a nonconference game on Saturday, September 26, beginning at 3:30 pm.