Since losing to non-conference opponent Pleasantville in its season-opener, Greenwich High School’s boys lacrosse team has certainly gained plenty of momentum heading into its significant FCIAC game against rival Wilton on Saturday.

The Cardinals’ first win of their 2023 season came against host Bronxville in overtime, then they followed up that hard-fought victory by defeating Weston at Cardinal Stadium in their home-opener. Tuesday, Greenwich extended its winning streak to three games and it did so by once, again, displaying its offensive prowess.

Greenwich remained on a roll offensively when it faced an improving Stamford squad on Tuesday, capitalizing a wealth of its scoring opportunities in a convincing 19-7 victory at Cardinal Stadium.

Sophomore attack Mikey Brescia recorded five goals and four assists, while sophomore midfielder Colin Zeller tallied five goals and one assist to power Greenwich’s offense against Stamford.

“The nice thing about an offense when it’s trying to build chemistry is when you see the assists,” Greenwich coach Bobby Lutz said. “Our last game out of our 12 goals, 10 were assisted. So, any time you see ball movement and guys working together it shows that they are looking for teammates and developing.”

Freshman attack Dean Kim registered four goals and one assist and senior attackman/co-captain Brian Collins had a goal and three assists in the winning effort.

“We’ve been playing a lot better lately, offensively,” Collins noted. “Offense is a lot about chemistry, so once we start jelling – we’ve got a lot of new faces but every day in practice we are working to get better and I think the chemistry is about 10 times better.”

Junior midfielder/FOGO Lane Critchell won 18 of the 22 faceoffs he took, enabling Greenwich to gain key possessions and control the ball and the matchup’s tempo.

Sophomore Ilan Amaro received the start in goal for Greenwich and made four saves, before freshman Jack Hamel got his first extended action of the season in goal. Hamel played much of the second half, making five saves.

“We wanted to give the younger guys some looks and some of them stepped up nicely, which is great, because you need depth, especially when it gets hotter out and you are running through tough teams that beat up on you,” Lutz said.

Kim opened the scoring against Stamford, converting a lot shot 38 seconds into the first quarter. Zeller scored on a perimeter shot from 10 yards out at the 10:33 mark of the first quarter and Kim added his second goal with 8:19 to go in the opening quarter, making it 4-0.

After Stamford tallied with 6:33 remaining in the first quarter, GHS scored the final two goals of the frame to seize a 6-1 advantage. Brescia notched the first goal of the second quarter, catching pass from behind the net and snapping it home, putting the home team on top, 7-1.

“Everyone was moving around, it was a team effort out there,” Brescia said. “I was getting open for my teammates, who were making the right passes, the right plays. We were fortunate enough to put it in the back of the net.”

The Black Knights, who have several impressive offensive players, closed to within 7-3 with a pair of goals, but the Cards ended the second quarter with a three-goal run to enter halftime with a 10-3 lead. Brescia tallied off a turnover and Zeller buried a shot top shelf from 12 yards out, making the score 10-3 at halftime.

“I think the offense has been working a lot better after a rough game against Pleasantville (a 12-6 loss),” Zeller said. “We realized what was working, what wasn’t working. We came to practice knowing what needed to be done and we have been working as a group.”

The second half saw Greenwich continue to flourish offensively and put a lot of effort on defense against Stamford, which also hustled throughout and tried to create scoring opportunities.

“It was a good performance,” said Greenwich defender/co-captain Matthew Trimmer, who helped lead the Cards’ defensive effort. “It’s nice to see the young guys get in there and make some plays. It was a good performance from our young goaltender, a freshman stepping in for the first time on varsity. They (Stamford) are definitely a program on the rise and getting better each year. It is great to see the competition in the FCIAC get better year after year.”

Sophomore Chris Marinaccio scored twice, while junior Julian Saunders had a goal and senior Wyatt Stratton posted one goal and one assist for the victors.

Junior defender/midfielder Adam Kim assisted on two goals, as did freshman midfielder Boden Farmer for the Cardinals, who received on assist from junior midfielder Jake Duda.

“The chemistry is getting better, everyone is getting open, so we have to find a way to score and get shots,” Brescia said.

“It’s a young offense, but that’s not an excuse for us,” Zeller added. “We are coming out and working hard every day trying to build that chemistry.”

Following their home game versus Wilton on Saturday, Greenwich will host New Canaan on April 20, then visit Mamaroneck (N.Y.) April 22.

“We’re 3-1 going into a gauntlet, with Wilton, Mamaroneck and New Canaan, so we’ll see,” Lutz said. “This is where you measure how the whole FCIAC is, when you play each other.”

Said Collins: “The offense is working well when we are getting assisted goals. I think we’re looking good, we are on a three-game win streak here going into Wilton and we’re looking to keep it going.”

“After that Pleasantville game, that lit a fire under us and now we are rolling,” Brescia said. “We have the momentum and we’re trying to take that into Wilton on Saturday.”