Sandy Hook, CT — Sure, there are all of the goals — so many of them — saves, and ground ball scoops that load up the stat sheet. Then there are the things often not tracked that also add up to help teams win. Just ask Maura Fletcher, coach of the Newtown High School girls’ lacrosse team, fresh off an unbeaten regular season and now vying for the program’s first South-West Conference championship since 2017. In a 17-13 win over visiting Fairfield Ludlowe at Blue & Gold Stadium on May 13, Ava Mitchell and Jules Battaglia hustled to win close battles for ground balls, Natalie McLean stood out on the ride to help pin the opposing offense, Jen Socci helped out defensively to slow Ludlowe’s fast break, and Brooke Bulkley swatted a loose ball to a teammate to help Newtown gain possession at one point. “Little things like that all over the field are what’s giving us success,” Fletcher said. “We have lots of players doing lots of important little things.” Another key to Newtown’s winning ways: Teamwork. Unselfish play to be specific. “They really share the ball well. They’re kind to each other,” Fletcher said. And of course, you need to outscore the opponent to win. Summer Harrell scored six goals and had an assist and Bella Gerace netted five goals and two assists in the win over Ludlowe. Brooke Bulkley also hit the net three times. Allie Bradley and Harrell both had seven draw controls. Goaltender Alexa Manfredonia made seven saves. The Nighthawks built a 10-2 lead before Ludlowe finished the half with four unanswered goals. Fletcher said her team got caught ball watching a bit. Another factor in Ludlowe’s scoring success was Newtown’s game plan to focus guarding draw specialist and Stanford-bound Kaleigh Sommers, who had been sidelined for part of the season and recently came back to the lineup. Fletcher believes her defense got a bit distracted trying to mark Sommers and waiting for the play to unfold at times. In the end, Newtown came up with enough plays, including winning 16 draw controls to Ludlowe’s 12, on the way to victory. A key portion of the game was the first 11-plus minutes of the second half. Ludlowe had clear-cut momentum heading into the break but the Nighthawks came out of it with the same dominance they put forth early in the game. The Hawks scored five straight goals to begin the second half and did not allow a Ludlowe goal until 13:44 remained in the game. Manfredonia made a save early on in the half and McLean scored less than two minutes into the half. Gerace, Harrell twice, and Bulkley tacked on and it was 15-6 just over seven minutes into the second. The Hawks led 17-9 before again surrendering the last four goals of the half, but the lead was simply too big for the visiting Falcons to claw all the way back. Both teams capitalized on free position shots with the Nighthawks capitalizing on eight of their ten chances. The Nighthawks won despite allowing a season-high 13 goals. “They got it done,” Fletcher said. The Nighthawks have gotten it done all season long, scoring in double digits every single game on the way to a 16-0 regular slate and the top seed in the SWC. That included a 20-1 win over host Stratford-Bunnell on May 11. Harrell and Gerace both scored three times and Abby Ihlefeld netted a trio of goals. The regular season ended with a 19-3 victory over visiting Notre Dame-Fairfield on May 15. Gerace scored four times and Battaglia and Rachael Albrecht both scored hat-tricks. Goaltender Riley Alesevich made four saves. Newtown has scored 15 or more goals ten times and mostly blown out the competition, including an 18-8 win over the conference’s second-best, Weston. Newtown proved it can beat everybody in the conference and will look to continue that trend as the SWC playoffs unfold. Quarterfinals start Thursday, May 18, when top seed NHS hosts No. 8 Bethel at 5 pm, the semifinals are set for Monday, May 22, with the championship game on Wednesday, May 24. “Our goal is absolutely to win,” Fletcher said. The Nighthawks may be unbeaten, but they know it has been close at times. There was a 10-8 win over Pomperaug of Southbury, a 13-11 victory over Joel Barlow of Redding, and an 11-8 win over defending champion New Fairfield. There is a fair amount of parity and unpredictability within the conference. Right behind Newtown (11-0 in the SWC) is Weston (10-1) and then there is Barlow (8-3) and a trio of teams — Masuk of Monroe, New Fairfield, and Pomperaug — right there with seven conference victories. “We’ve played well thus far. The conference is a little unsettled this year — a lot of teams beating each other. Any team can win on any given day,” said Fletcher, adding that if her squad plays well it has a good chance to come out on top. Sports Editor Andy Hutchison can be reached at [email protected]. https://www.newtownbee.com/05182023/unbeaten-hawk-lacrosse-team-does-all-the-little-things-to-find-success/