By Kim J. Harmon

What a difference a second makes.

For Jessica Oswald, one second last Friday afternoon meant the difference between no goals, one goal or two goals in the Lady Nighthawks’ 2-0 win over Pomperaug at Bruce Jenner Stadium.

See, it was late in the first half and the Lady Nighthawks were already ahead, 1-0. They were already ahead because Shannon Rouse had punched a pass through the Pomperaug defense and found Colleen Davis, who dribbled the ball for 30 yards – all the while being trailed by the Lady Panther defense – before slipping a shot under the goaltender.

But late in the half, Rouse worked a nice give-and-go with Oswald. The go pass found Oswald wide open in the box, behind the defense. Then - right after she maneuvered herself into a comfortable spot and right before she cranked the leg up for what would have been a sure goal – the whistle blew.

Half over.

But that’s not the end of it.

See, it was late in the second half and Newtown had spent almost 40 minutes calmly maintaining its 1-0 lead when the Pomperaug offense made a huge push on the Newtown goal. The 10 field players were closing in on the 18-yard box when the Newtown defense took possession of the ball.

Oswald was off, all alone, when she gathered in a pass well behind midfield (the offsides line). She dribbled for maybe 20 yards and as the Pomperaug goalie sauntered off the end line, Oswald lofted a shot that sailed over the goalie’s head and into the net.

With one second left to play.

All it took was the touch at midfield by Pomperaug and the game was over . . . with Newtown a 2-0 winner.

That was about all the excitement – that, as well as an eight-goal explosion against Immaculate on Monday – the Lady Nighthawks were allowed as they wound up the 1999 regular season. A loss at Lauralton Hall last week had effectively snuffed out their South-West Conference playoff chances, leaving the ‘Hawks to finish out the string and prepare themselves for the CIAC Class L state tournament.

In the season finale Monday, the ‘Hawks were attempting to ease past the struggling Lady Mustangs of Immaculate, who had limped to a 1-15 record entering the game. But a 3-2 halftime lead may have been a little too narrow for the Lady Nighthawks, for they exploded for five second-half goals to earn an 8-3 victory.

Rouse and Davis scored two goals each while Oswald, Morgan Haines, Stephanie Miles and Cassie Bagaglio scored solo goals.

At 10-4-1, the ‘Hawks figure to get a decent seed and a home game when the tournament starts next week. Last year, that is exactly what happened, but the ‘Hawks still found a bitter end to that campaign with a first-round, 1-0 loss to Windsor.

This year, though, the ‘Hawks are taking advantage of a different style of offense installed by new coach John Kostelis. It certainly hasn’t hurt the production of Shannon Rouse (17 goals) and Colleen Davis (14 goals), who are among the most dangerous strikers in the SWC.

But the success has also come from the midfield play of people like Kendall Zimmerman, Jessica Oswald, Kim Helfer, Morgan Haines, and Stephanie Miles. And then there is the solid defense, led by Jamie Cavanaugh with Kristin Smith and Cara Delvecchio which has played very well in front of goaltender Kate Bouteiller.

The ‘Hawks have put together a nice package in 1999. Let’s see, now, if they can deliver it deep into the CIAC state tournament.