Photo by David Fierro: Sisters Laetitia Cartellieri and Lavinia Cartellieri have excelled as members of the Greenwich Academy field hockey team this fall. Greenwich Academy edged visiting Loomis Chaffee School, 2-1, on Oct. 26, 2022.

Generating shots on goal wasn’t an issue for Greenwich Academy’s field hockey team during its game against Loomis Chaffee School on Wednesday, yet getting shots past Loomis’ goalie was, as she made numerous saves from tough angles throughout.

Yet Greenwich Academy did enough to overtake Loomis Chaffee in this late-season matchup at Tammaro Field and get right back on the winning track after being edged by one goal in its recent game against rival Sacred Heart Greenwich last weekend.

Receiving goals from Laetitia Cartellieri and Gigi Caldero, Greenwich Academy posted a well-earned 2-1 win over Loomis Chaffee to improve its record to 14-3.

The Gators forced the action the majority of the game, putting a lot of pressure on the Pelicans in the circle, while testing Loomis goalie Liz Winemaster with hard shots on goal, sending a lot of drives toward the cage.

Photo by David Fierro: Greenwich Academy’s Sienna Tejpaul carries the ball down the field vs. Loomis Chaffee.

“We had a ton of corners today in our favor,” Greenwich Academy coach Jamie Brower said. “It took us a while to figure out how to get around them. They were big, strong, fast and fearless and their goalie was fantastic. She was so fun to watch.”

“But we did a good job of containing their big hits and counter attacking,” Brower continued. “As the game went on, we did a better job of counter attacking.”

GA’s first goal came from Laetitia Cartellieri, who got her stick on a shot from Caldero and tipped it in for a goal, giving the home team a 1-0 lead. Laetitia, a senior tri-captain/midfielder and her sister Lavinia, a sophomore forward, have helped pace GA’s outstanding play so far this fall.

Greenwich Academy’s Caroline Busler (No. 7) looks to put a shot on goal against Loomis Chaffee.

“It’s very exciting to play on the same team with my sister,” Lavinia said. “I want to continue that in the future too, we have  good connection with each other on the field.”

Laetitia was impressed with the squad’s effort and aggressiveness against a formidable Loomis team.

“It was a very competitive atmosphere,” Laetitia Cartellieri said. “Everyone was playing very well. There were some things that we could have improved on, but overall, it was a great game.”

Greenwich Academy went ahead, 2-0, on Loomis Chaffee courtesy of a well-executed goal by Caldero, a junior midfielder. Finding open space, Caldero ripped a shot reverse shot from the top of the circle, resulting in a goal and giving GA a two-goal lead.

Greenwich Academy’s Gigi Caldero scored a goal against Loomis Chaffee

“We had a great goal from Gigi, we had a nice corner, so we’ve been doing pretty well,” Laetitia Cartellieri said. “They have a very good goalie, she made some great saves. Overall, they were very strong.”

Senior forward and tri-captain Sienna Tejpaul helped lead Greenwich Academy’s offense, posted several shots on goal, while pushing the ball inside Loomis’ circle. Junior forward/midfielder Caroline Busler was a threat throughout the matchup for GA, pressuring the Pelicans’ defenders.

“I was really happy with the overall passing game that we played today, it was really good and our layers were really good and that’s what allowed us to hang with these guys,” Brower said. “We had some really good shots and some good opportunities to score.”

“We were ripping shots from the top of the circle, we were giving their goalie some good hard, high shots. It was really impressive with how well that goalie played.”

Senior tri-captain Ellie Johnson was among the defenders who helped spark GA’s strong defensive effort in front of sophomore goalie Persia Shipman.

“Between our defense playing strong and smart and our attack getting the ball on goal, we were lucky to come away with a 2-1 lead,” Brower said. “They were putting pressure on at the end looking for a chance to score.”

Said Lavinia Cartellieri: “We were up two until the last quarter. We’ve been working on staying on defense and stayting strong until the last second and we pulled through with that.”

Up next for Greenwich Academy is a home game against Westminster School on Saturday, which marks GA’s Senior Day. The postseason is rapidly approaching, as GA is getting set to compete in the FAA and NEPSAC tournaments.

“We’re really excited for what’s ahead,” Laetitia Cartellieri said. “We worked really hard and our bond is really strong, so we’re ready for what’s to come.”