Girls LAX Falls To Rival Newtown

For the first 35 minutes of Friday's battle between perennial rivals Brookfield and Newtown girls' lacrosse, the  Newtown girls appeared vulnerable. With a few defensive changes and a late, aggressive attack, the Lady Nighthawks took a decisive win with a final score of 17-9.

Brookfield midfielder Caitlyn Stauffer drove to the Newtown net with 15:08 remaining in the second half and fired a shot past goalie Jill Jagoe to cut the Nighthawks' lead to 10-8.

The Bobcats had remained within three goals of Newtown, the five-time defending South-West Conference champions up to that point, and the pressure was beginning to mount.

That's when Newtown midfielder Lisa Vendel took over.

Vendel scored four unanswered goals over a three minute, 31 second span, as Newtown stayed undefeated with a 17-9 victory at Treadwell Park.

"Lisa is a phenomenal player offensively and defensively. She's tough to stop," Newtown coach Maura Fletcher said. "She's a great leader on the field."

Newtown improved to 4-0 (3-1 SWC) on the year, while Brookfield dropped to 3-1 (2-1).

The Nighthawks outscored Brookfield 7-1 over the game's final seven minutes to open the floodgates on what was for the most part, a close affair. Brookfield frustrated Newtown's explosive attack early with an aggressive defense, which forced the Nighthawks into uncharacteristic turnovers.

But, Newtown remained calm and solved the Lady Bobcat's tough defense.

"The big difference between the first and the second half is we showed a lot more patience offensively," Fletcher said. "The first half we were throwing the ball away. Things that we don't do often. We really weren't taking care of the ball."

The Bobcats capitalized on Newtown's mistakes and jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on goals by midfielders Emily Leonard and Jackie Brown. Only 71 seconds had ticked on the clock, but Brookfield had already made its statement.

It would not be an easy afternoon for Newtown.

Each team matched the other's intensity level and aggression, and it showed. Fletcher said there was just one "eight-meter shot" the entire game, which she said is "not indicative of a girls lacrosse game at all."

"They really let us play. Maybe a little too much at times. But honestly, I'd rather let them play than blow the whistle all day long," Fletcher said.

After Vendel and midfielder Kaitlyn Brophy fired shots past Brookfield goalie Kelly Grady to even the score at 2-2, Stauffer picked up a loose ball with 14:50 remaining in the first half and wristed a shot into the net to take the lead back.

The score was tied on four different instances in the first 20 minutes, before attacker Meghan Bridges gave Newtown a lead it would not relinquish. Vendel added one of her game-high six goals with 17.2 seconds remaining in the half, to give Newtown an 8-6 edge.

Bridges scored five goals on the afternoon, while Brophy found the back of the net four times.

Fletcher said the Nighthawks opened the second half with "defensive adjustments" and they  paid off. Newtown limited Brookfield's opportunities in front of the net, as they outscored the Bobcats 9-2 during the second half.

Newtown "played 100-percent the whole game," Brookfield coach Kary Rodgers said. "That's what we need to do from now on. Sometimes the score gets to you, and its not over until its over."

For Brookfield, the loss to Newtown was all too familiar. Dating  to the 2006 season, the Bobcats have made four trips to the SWC title game, but have come up short each time. The opponent? Newtown.

Despite the defeat, Rodgers noted that there is room to build off the close loss.

"They're a great team. They have great players and great skills," Rodgers said of Newtown. "But we do too. We can easily match their players and easily match their skills. We just need to show it."