Newtown High School's girls' lacrosse team jumped out to an early lead and coasted to an 18-3 triumph in the South-West Conference tournament quarterfinals, at Blue & Gold Stadium, on May 18.

The top-seeded Nighthawks poured it on with 11 unanswered goals to start the game, and No. 8 Bethel could never get anything going. Julia Sughrue, Dylan Zahansky, and Alex Futterman all netted hat-tricks in the first 15 or so minutes of the game. Newtown stalled to take some time off the clock and led 12-1 at the half.

Zahansky and Futterman both finished with four goals, Futterman added two assists, and Sughrue had an assist along with her three tallies.

Grace Pettinelli scored twice, and Keeley Kortze, Alison Kelleher, Hana Rosenthal, Lindsey Merrifield, and Morgan Sclafani all had net-finders. Kortze had two assists, and Rosenthal and Merrifield each tacked on an assist.

It was hot on the field for this matchup, which got underway at about 5:30 pm. To combat the heat and mange having a few players sidelined with illness, Newtown Coach Maura Fletcher said, the Nighthawks substituted players frequently to keep them fresh.

The Hawks executed the game plan to build an early lead and control the pace of the game, Fletcher said.

"It's so exciting to see everybody working really well together," said Newtown defender Cassidy Kortze, who helped the Hawks limit Bethel to a handful of shots on goal. "We have super high expectations for the team. Everybody holds each other to such high standards."

The Nighthawks advance to the semifinals and a date with fourth-seeded New Fairfield. The game will be played on the turf at Blue & Gold and is set for Monday, May 22, beginning at 7 pm.

With a win, the Hawks would take on either No. 2 Weston or No. 3 Pomperaug of Southbury in the Wednesday, May 24 championship game, at a site to be determined.

"We're taking it one game at a time, not letting (each win) distract us from the main goal," Sughrue said.