By Kim J. Harmon

BETHEL – The 2000 fall season finally got underway on Wednesday afternoon – of course, with great anticipation – but the field hockey opener did not go quite as well as second-year coach Kathy Davey would have hoped.

No, not quite.

The Nighthawks were blanked by Bethel, 4-0.

A young team . . . a new goaltender – to be sure, there were some questions mark surrounding this year’s edition of the field hockey team, but coach Davey felt the talent level would help the ‘Hawks rise above their 4-7-3 record of a year ago.

Well, it appears as if it will take a least a couple of games for the ‘Hawks to get their legs.

It’s a long season.

For the first five or six minutes of this one, though, it appeared as if the ‘Hawks were all set to take charge in the South-West Conference. They moved the ball right into the circle and challenged the cage enough to earn three corners.

But nothing came of those corners and when Bethel finally managed to clear the ball and advance to the other end of the field, it became the Wildcats’ game. The first goal came midway through the first half after a quick attack on the cage.

Heather Morgan – who is taking over in the cage for All-State goaltender Keri Levinson – had to stand on her head a couple of times to turn Bethel away, but was under a nearly relentless assault by Bethel throughout the game (she faced 42 shots overall). Late in the first half, Morgan makes a hard stop off a corner hit, but couldn’t reach the rebound in time to keep the ball out of the cage and Bethel had a 2-0 lead.

Coach Davey lamented, at halftime, the lack of communication on the field and the way the ‘Hawks were trying to move the ball up the center of the field, rather than wide around the wings. But Bethel seemed to have all the avenues covered and rarely let Newtown into its own end of the field through the remainder of the game.

Early in the second half, a long hit by Bethel reached the near corner of the cage. Morgan cut off any possible angle, but a pass from the endline somehow found its way in front of the cage – a perfect centering pass waiting for someone to punch it in for a score.

With the ‘Hawks down 3-0, Morgan had a fine moment in goal when she turned away a penalty stroke. Shortly after, however, the Wildcats made good on their efforts to score and took a 4-0 lead late in the game.

In the final moments, with Bethel charging again, the Newtown defense held tight under the onslaught of three corner attempts.

The Nighthawks will travel to Weston on Friday for a 3:30 pm game and then to New Milford on Tuesday, September 19, for another 3:30 pm game. The ‘Hawks will play their home opener on Thursday, September 21, against Masuk, under the lights (7 pm) at the Stadium.