Greenwich High girls lacrosse team defeated by undefeated, top-seeded Darien in Class L Tournament semifinals

By David Fierro on June 10, 2023 • ( Leave a comment )

Photo by David Fierro: Darien’s Kate Min, left, looks to make a pass along the sideline, while being defended by Greenwich’s Liv Caminiti, right and Dillon McFerran (No. 9) during the semifinal-round of the CIAC Class L Tournament. Darien won the game, advance to the championship game of the state tournament.

The 2023 season was one of significant improvement for the Greenwich High School girls lacrosse team, which reached the semifinal-round of both the FCIAC and Class L tournaments for the first time since 2017 and played powerhouse Darien, the No. 1-ranked team in the nation, in both final four matchups.

Knowing the ultimate challenge they were going to face against the unbeaten Blue Wave, the Cardinals put forth the best effort they could against their top-seeded foe in last night’s CIAC Class L Tournament semifinal.

Yet Darien wasn’t going to be denied.

Receiving a sensational eight-goal performance from senior attack Chloe Humphrey, No.1-seeded Darien topped fifth-seeded Greenwich, 15-5, in the Class L semifinals. The win advanced the Blue Wave (21-0) into Monday’s Class L Tournament final, where they will play longtime rival New Canaan in a rematch of the 2023 state championship game, won by the Rams, 14-13.

Photo by David Fierro: Greenwich defender/midfielder Kaitlin Kelly sprints down the sideline with the ball during the Cardinals state semifinal matchup against Darien at Darien on June 9, 2023. The Blue Wave were victorious.

The Cardinals, who defeated FCIAC rivals Staples and Ridgefield in the opening and quarterfinal-rounds of the Class L Tournament, finished their stellar season with a record of 12-6. They posted a 9-4 record, then went 2-1 in the postseason.

“It’s been a great season for Greenwich, with an incredible senior class,” Greenwich coach Tara Clough said. “I am so proud of all our players for their commitment to the team and hard work all season.”

Junior midfielder Sadie Stafford recorded three goals and three assists, while senior attack/midfielder Jillian Vaught registered two goals and two assists for the Blue Wave, who held a 7-2 halftime lead on Greenwich at halftime of this state semifinal matchup.

The Cardinals received nine saves from senior goalie Daryl Furno and two goals apiece from junior midfielder Emma Abbazia and sophomore attack Aubrey Roth. Freshman attack Giselle DiPietro added a goal for the Cardinals, who got seven draw controls from Abbazia.

Photo by David Fierro: Darien attack Chloe Humphrey powered the Blue Wave offense against Greenwich in the state semis.

Greenwich lost to Darien in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Class L Tournament and fell to Fairfield Ludlowe in the quarterfinal-round of the 2021 state tourney.

“For the season, we set a bunch of goals,” said Greenwich senior attack Cece Tauber, who served as one of the squad’s captains. “We have our schedule up on our chalkboard in our team room with our goals. Going in there every single day and seeing us cross off teams that we beat that we hadn’t beaten in the past and were ranked a lot higher than us is something that we’re very proud of.”

Darien’s offense got rolling during the latter part of the first half and continued to flourish in the second half.

Greenwich’s girls lacrosse team huddles up around coach Tara Clough at the CIAC Class L semifinals against Darien.

“We’ve been really focusing on our extra practices the past few days of working together and looking for the feeds,” said the University of North Carolina-bound Humphrey, one of the team’s captains. “A lot of our goals were assisted today, which was a big improvement of what we’ve seen in the past few games from the Wave.”

Furno helped keep the Cards in reach in the first half, making seven saves during the first 25 minutes of action.

“I didn’t think we had a very good shooting night, so I was a little frustrated,” said Darien coach Lisa Lindley, whose powerhouse Blue Wave squad will be competing for their 20^th state championship on Monday. “I don’t know if the girls forgot she (Furno) is a lefty, but to her credit, she made some great saves. She certainly saved quite a few of our shots. We did a pretty good job on the fastbreak though and our defense played well as always.”

Photo by David Fierro: Darien’s Ryan Hapgood, right and Greenwich’s Keira Young battle for a ground ball.

Like the FCIAC semifinals, last night’s Class L semis began with Greenwich scoring the game’s first goal off a shot by Aubrey Roth. And like the FCIAC semifinals, the Blue Wave went on a decisive run following the opening goal.

Humphrey evened the score at 1-1, scoring off a pass from Vaught, then Vaught drew an 8-meter shot and converted, going top shelf and giving the home team the lead for good at 2-1 at the 15:54 mark.

Humphrey scored off a free position attempt, then tallied off a pass from freshman Anna Von Kennel while cutting hard to the goal, putting the Blue Wave, ahead, 4-1.

Greenwich’s Emma Abbazia during pregame introductions.

“Lacrosse is a game of runs,” Clough noted. “We had a strong start and then deflated a little with a bunch of turnovers. We finished strong. Darien is such a talented team with athletic depth.”

The Cardinals closed to within 4-2 on a free position goal from freshman attack Giselle DiPietro, then the Blue Wave built their advantage back up, notching the final three goals of the first half. Humphrey scored two more first-half goals and Stafford tallied, giving Darien an 7-2 halftime edge.

Cardinals senior captain/defender MK Savio knows the team left it all out on the field against the host Blue Wave.

Greenwich High defender Sophie Roth gets ready to make a pass against Darien in the CIAC Class L Tournament semifinals.

“I definitely think the team came together and played as one unit, both offense and defense,” Savio said. “We put our heart into that game and whatever happened, happened. I’m so proud of this team, it’s the best I’ve seen them play all season. We wanted to come together at the end and play as one unit and I think we did that well in this game.”

The second half began with Darien scoring five straight goals to seize a commanding 12-2 lead. Humphrey scored three of those goals, while sophomore Hope Hapwood and Vaught notched a goal apiece during the home team’s impressive scoring spurt.

Greenwich’s MK Savio left, defends Chloe Humphrey of Darien in state tournament lacrosse action.

“Our offense is very talented, we have a lot of different scorers on the team,” Ryan Hapgood said. “We work every day on our offense and working together as a unit and our plays and making it difficult for other defenses.”

Lindley was especially pleased with her squad’s defensive performance and their ability to gather key ground balls throughout the state semifinal matchup.

“Getting the ground balls has been an emphasis of ours all year, because we didn’t do a very good job of that last year,” said Lindley, who has guided the Blue Wave to 19 state titles. “But that is purely about quickness and desire and conditioning.”

Greenwich’s Liv Caminiti, left and Darien’s Kate Min collide while battling for the ball during the Class L semifinals.

Junior Hope Schoudel made four saves in goal for Darien, which is 2-0 against the Rams this season, including a victory in the FCIAC Tournament’s final last month. Maggie Bellissimo, a junior and Kaci Benoit, a senior, caused three and two turnovers, respectively, and helped pace Darien’s dynamic defensive play.

“We played as a strong unit, our chemistry is unmatched,” Benoit said. “We played man defense and we did an overall good job of talking to each other, sliding and being there for each other.”

As for playing New Canaan again?

“They are always such a great opponent and matchup against us and we’re ready to prepare and get ready for the game,” Benoit noted.

Darien’s lacrosse captains, left and Greenwich’s captains, right, gather prior to the CIAC Class L Tournament semifinals.

Said Humphrey: “This one we’re really ready for and I have confidence in all my teammates that we can bring it home, so I’m really excited.”

Kaitlin Kelly, a senior, had a pair of draw controls for Greenwich, which graduates a strong senior class of athletes, who meant a great deal to the program.

Greenwich High’s girls lacrosse team lines up on the field at Darien during pregame introductions at the Class L Tournament semifinals against host Darien. The Blue Wave posted a 15-5 win over the Cardinals to earn a spot in the title game.

“Going into the season, we really had high hopes and I’m so proud of the team,” Tauber said. “This is the first team that has made it to FCIAC semifinals and state semifinals since 2017, so it’s something that fueled our team and momentum. Getting as far as we did is a big shift for Greenwich lacrosse and the rut we’ve been in for the past few years.”

Furno, Kelly, Sophia Neitzell (a captain), Sophie Roth, Kelsey Roth, Rylan Savio (captain), Sepot, Lacey Warwick and Keira Young (captain) were the Cardinals’ seniors.

Darien’s Chloe Humphrey, left and Jillian Vaught pursue Greenwich’s Kaitlin Kelly during state tournament lacrosse action.

“I’m so happy with everyone this whole season and the progress they made,” Savio said. “Greenwich lacrosse has made such a big impact on my life, even though I had one season taken from me. The coaching staff, athletic staff, everyone on the team is family to me. I can’t wait to come back and tell them all the great things they prepared me for in college.”

Said Young: “It was a great season, we put so much heart into it. To end it like this was was OK, this was the farthest we made it since 2017. We made our mark on the program and as a senior class, we’re happy with where we’re leaving everyone for next year.”

Darien’s coaching staff addresses the team at halftime of its Class L Tournament semifinal against Greenwich.

Tauber reflected on her senior season and overall lacrosse career at GHS.

“I always wanted to a be a captain of this team,” she said. “I wanted to play a pivotal role and I think going into my senior season, I did just that. I’m happy for our team and the bonds that we made and what we accomplished.”