Sandy Hook, CT — Nail-biting outcomes and contests against other unbeaten teams certainly have the potential to go either way. For Newtown High School’s girls’ lacrosse team, however, things have ended in their favor in every such instance through the first three weeks of action this spring. In their latest installment of taking down an undefeated foe by a goal, it was Elena Sughrue doing the honors. Sughrue broke a tie on a free position shot with just 12 seconds remaining, sending the Nighthawks to a fulfilling 10-9 win over visiting Weston on April 21. It was Newtown’s fourth win over a previously unscathed squad, and third by the slimmest of margins, among seven games to start the season. “It felt awesome. It was so nice for everything to come together at the end,” said Sughrue, who scored a hat-trick and helped the Hawks battle back from a late 8-6 deficit. “We really came together as a team and supported each other, and I think that’s how we pulled out the win.” “It was definitely a whole team effort,” added Summer Harrell, who also netted three goals to go along with a pair of assists. Harrell added that it might not have been the prettiest of games but that Newtown’s hard work paid off in the end. Newtown’s defense was stellar with goaltender Alexa Manfredonia making ten saves and support provided by the likes of turnover-causing teammates Brooke Bulkley, Bella Gerace, Erin Phaneuf, and Allie Bradley. The Nighthawks mostly shut down Weston standout Hannah Cross, who finished with five shots and two goals. Weston was held to its lowest goal total of the season. “Defense did great. They made so many stops — and then we turned the ball over,” said Newtown Coach Maura Fletcher, who credited Weston for forcing several of Newtown’s turnovers. “That was a good team, really fast team — an athletic team. I was surprised about how difficult their pressure on the rides was for us to handle,” Fletcher said. “Weston did such a great job pressuring the ball. It really got us out of our comfort zone.” Despite that, Newtown managed to get the ball out of danger and set up the offense enough to extend not only a winning streak but a stretch of double-digit offensive showings; NHS has scored in double figures in every game, including wins over Bethel on April 23 and Brookfield on April 26 to improve to 9-0. Ten or more goals was not looking too likely early on with Weston building a 4-1 lead and clinging to a 4-3 lead at halftime. “It was really hard to get possession,” said Fletcher, whose team wound up finishing with ten draw controls to 11 for the Trojans. A key to Newtown’s second-half offensive turnaround was how the Hawks played with possession, including using patience. “Our offense valued possession of the ball and we waited for a great opportunity instead of just an opportunity,” Fletcher said. Weston scored just 11 seconds into the second half for a 5-3 advantage. Gerace and Harrell answered just 43 seconds apart to knot things with 21:07 left in the 25-minute half. Harrell answered Weston’s go-ahead tally with 14:40 to play after the defense came up with a big denial. The Trojans got the next two net-finders and led 8-6 with 7:43 to go. Sughrue had clutch, Weston momentum-stymieing tally when she circled around from behind the net and made it 8-7 just 44 seconds later. Izzy Butler knotted the score with 4:22 left and put Newtown in front for the first time since it was 1-0 when she made it 9-8 with 2:31 to play. Weston evened the score exactly a minute later and got possession off the ensuing draw. Manfredonia made a huge pressure save on a free position opportunity with less than a minute showing on the scoreboard clock. Newtown got possession, Sughrue attacked the net and drew a call against the Weston defense. She capitalized by roofing her free position opportunity. Gerace battled for the ball off the last draw and the Hawks held on. Gerace and Phaneuf both found the back of the net once. Gerace also had an assist and four draw controls, and Phaneuf and Bradley each had three draw controls. Bulkley had three ground ball scoops, and Harrell had two ground balls. In their next game, Newtown went on the road and beat Bethel 19-7. Jules Battaglia had four goals and two assists, Sughrue scored four times, Harrell had three goals and an assist, Gerace and Butler both had two goals and two assists, Phaneuf scored twice, and Bulkley and Ava Mitchell added tallies. Mitchell and Ella Hage had assists. Manfredonia made seven stops. Bradley and Harrell had six and five draw controls, respectively. The Hawks hosted Brookfield three days later and rolled to a 14-5 triumph. Sughrue scored four times and Butler had three goals and three assists to lead the offense. Phaneuf, Harrell, and Gerace each scored twice, and Harrell had a trio of assists. Bradley led NHS with five draw controls. Newtown was scheduled to have another challenging matchup with unbeaten New Fairfield on Thursday, April 28, at 5:30 pm. Sports Editor Andy Hutchison can be reached at [email protected]. https://www.newtownbee.com/04282022/another-thrilling-one-goal-win-sughrue-scores-late-as-lacrosse-teams-wi/