Greenwich Academy’s Varsity A lacrosse team’s game on the road against Loomis Chaffee School this past Saturday had a milestone-reaching theme.

Seniors Rebecca Arpano and Ellie Burdick, both GA captains, each achieved milestones during the team’s convincing 12-5 win over Loomis Chaffee School.

Burdick earned her 100th career draw control in Greenwich Academy’s triumph.

“For Ellie Burdick to control 100 draws, despite COVID robbing her of a freshman campaign and being injured a good portion of her junior year, is an outstanding achievement,” Greenwich Academy co-head coach Katie Johnson said. “When you consider the caliber of our competition, playing 5 or 6 of the top-25 nationally-ranked teams this year, this milestone is even more impressive. Ellie Burdick’s level of compete is unmatched and she is an inspiration to the younger players and to her peers.”

Arpano, who like Burdick, has been a mainstay on the GA’s Varsity A team for several seasons, made her 250th career save Saturday versus Loomis Chaffee.

“Rebecca Arpano has played 4 Varsity seasons at GA (was our Varsity B goalie as an 8^th grader) and made her 250^th career save on Saturday at the beginning of the second half at Loomis,” Johnson noted. “Rebecca’s shot saving ability is complemented by her incredible presence in the goal, she’s a great communicator and runs the defensive sets from her position inside the crease.”

“Since we run so many different sets, we rely on Rebecca to keep everyone organized and on task, and she is an outstanding leader,” Johnson said. “In addition, Rebecca has made dozens of interceptions and caused turnovers as well, as collected ground balls in big contests for us. We were so happy, excited and proud to honor both of these senior captains for their achievements at GA.”

Also in GA’s victory against Loomis Chaffee, Katie Barr and Mivi Novak scored four goals apiece to power the team. Dylan Casazza tallied twice, while Burdick and Lila Cabot each scored one goal in the winning effort.

“After a longer than expected bus ride and abbreviated warm-up, we were proud of the intensity with which the team played from the opening whistle,” Johnson said. “We dominated the draw circle, made the most of our possessions throughout the game and played very smart lacrosse. Offensively, we had great performances from two of our attackers, Mimi Novak and Katie Barr, who did a great job of finding the open lane and driving hard to the cage.”

Burdick assisted on two goals, while Casazza had one assist.

“Some of our younger players were given the opportunity to play the majority of the second half, and came with big draw controls and ground balls,” Johnson said. “Winnie Welch had a particularly strong day, grabbing two key ground balls and starting our offensive transition with her great speed. Caroline Watts had an excellent draw control.”

Ellie Johnson, a senior captain, had six draw controls, while Burdick had three, including her milestone 100th career draw control.

“Defensively, both Maya Tillman and Brooke Bertrand came up with big plays in transition and in our settled defense,” Johnson noted. “Maya has had a tremendous second half of the season, taking smart risks and showing her great lacrosse IQ both in practice and in games. She came up with several plays this week against Taft (key momentum-changing interception) and at Loomis (ground balls and timely slides) that showcase her level of complete in big games. Brooke is a great communicator and a valuable player to have in our settled defense.”

“Both players were standouts on defense at Loomis, along with Ruby Montanez, who forced a key turnover and turned away several 1-v-1 situations,” Johnson continued. “It has been wonderful having Ruby Montanez back in the lineup this year, after she recovered from ankle surgery. We so value the athleticism and IQ that Ruby brings to the table from playing three varsity sports at Greenwich Academy since freshman year.”

Arpano made four saves and was given a rest in goal after making her 250th career save. Freshman Lily Lyons played the majority of the second half in goal for Greenwich Academy, which raised its record to 8-2 with the win.

Up next for GA is a game at Greenwich High School Friday at 4:30 p.m.