Girls Soccer Settles for 1-1 Draw Against Immaculate

It was just the second game of the season for the Immaculate High School girls soccer team, but Thursday's matchup against Newtown meant a little more to Lindsay Jossick.

She transferred from Newtown last semester — where she didn't play soccer — and hours before kickoff, the opportunity to face her old school crossed the mind of the Mustangs' forward more than once.

"During school all day, I was getting worked up about it, and finally I let it all go," Jossick said.

As it turned out, she made her opportunity count.

With Immaculate trailing by one goal with just under five minutes remaining, Jossick controlled a cross inside the box from Sarah Murtha, a Newtown resident, and booted the ball into the net, helping the Mustangs escape with a 1-1 draw at home against Newtown.

"I'm just happy to get a goal against my old school," Jossick said. "It was a really big relief."

Newtown (1-0-1), which opened its season with a comfortable 5-1 win over Oxford Tuesday, jumped to a 1-0 lead with just 14:52 into the first half on a goal by forward Brittany Tolla — her fourth in two games.

Following the early tally, the Nighthawks had opportunities to extend their lead — they booted a shot far left on a wide-open net in the first half — but they were unable to capitalize, giving Immaculate a chance to strike late.

"It means a lot," Immaculate head coach Nelson Mingachos said of the comeback. "You're looking at a small (Class) S school playing against a big (Class) LL school. Newtown has always been in contention to win the league and for us to compete against a team like that is huge."

Newtown head coach Marc Kenney declined to comment on the game and signaled to a player to not comment.

Immaculate (0-1-1), which outshot Newtown 12-11, stepped up its pressure in the second half and came within inches of tying the game before Jossick's equalizer. With 18 minutes remaining, Courtney Marra drilled a shot from just outside the box that bounced off the crossbar and out of bounds.

The tie was a welcome result for Immaculate, which shared the Class S championship with top-seeded Old Lyme in 2009, but opened this season Tuesday with an 8-0 loss to Joel Barlow.

"I thought we played very well. We had our chances to win the game, so taking a point out of this game, I'll take it any time," Mingachos said. "You tell me you're going to tie a game against Newtown, I'll take it every time."