As the postseason progressed, the victories just kept getting more exciting for the 2022 Greenwich High School boys varsity soccer team.

Seeded 16th, the Cardinals began the CIAC Class LL Tournament with a win over No. 17 Farmington in a game that went to penalty kicks in the opening round, then edged No. 1-seeded Trumbull in a game also decided in penalty kicks in the second round. The quarterfinal round saw Greenwich eliminate ninth-seeded Newington with a 1-0 victory and in the semifinals, the Cardinals were winners again in penalty kicks against No. 13 Fairfield Prep.

That sent Greenwich in the championship game where they faced second-seeded Hall at Trinity Health Stadium before a jam-packed crowd. And yes, the game went to penalty kicks once again and yes, the Cardinals were triumphant.

In an instant classic, Greenwich won the penalty shootout against Hall, 4-3, resulting in a 3-2 victory and its first state championship since 1961. Indeed, it was a storybook season for the Cardinals, who kept authoring one winning chapter after another in the playoffs.

Since that November night to remember, the Cardinals graduated numerous players from last season’s championship 2022 squad, yet it also returns a strong nucleus of athletes for its 2023 campaign.

“We have a reasonable amount, I think there’s 15 players coming back,” Greenwich head coach Kurt Putnam said of the returning players from last season’s title-winning team. “During the preseason, I think we showed glimpses of being very good.”

Along with the players back from last season is the attitude and determination the team displayed during its run to the state championship.

“They just don’t give up and I hope that comes back this season – the never-quit mentality,” said Putnam, who is assisted by Ray Marschall. “In the end they had this attitude of ‘we don’t want this season to end.'”

“The rest was sheer grit, determination, belief, you name it,” Putnam said of his 2022 Cardinals. “They just carried on and refused to be beaten. In the end, I couldn’t have been any prouder, because our season was inconsistent.”

Greenwich peaked at exactly the right time last fall, going 5-0 in the Class LL state tournament, after falling to Trumbull in the FCIAC Tournament semifinals – a loss that put its record at 9-5-2. Including the state tourney, the Cards finished their 2022 season at 15-6-2. Captaining the Cardinals this season are seniors Maximo Ferrario, Gerardo Guerra and Andre Meier.

Ferrario, an attacking midfielder, is one of the Cards’ key offensive players. He scored two goals in Greenwich’s win against Hall in the Class LL title tilt and was named the state championship game’s MVP.

“This is my third year with the program and it’s a younger team that was here last year and everyone saw what we did last year,” Ferrario said. “We didn’t lose that many players this year though, which is a great thing.”

Ferrario knows the Cardinals must have a determined mindset each matchup.

“The mentality we have will be important,” Ferrario noted. “People are coming for us and we have to defend what we won as well. We have to come out strong and fight every game like we did last year.”

Complementing Ferrario up top are senior midfielder/forward Luca Chiappetta, senior forward/midfielder Charles Fiore, who produced clutch goals a season ago, senior Sean McConnell and senior Imanol Echevarria. Guerra, Meier, senior Tomas Biagini and senior Pietro Carvalho are among some of the returning defenders that gives GHS an experienced, battle-tested backline.

“We have a great team this year, a really young team, which benefits us,” Meier said. “Our team is strong and we should do really well this year. I think there is a really good vibe between the team – we have really skillful players.”

Meier was part of a backline that made it difficult for the opposition to score, especially during the postseason.

“It was a surreal experience winning in penalties pretty much every round, but we made it through and kept pushing,” said Meier, as he reflected on last season. “We showed a lot of resiliency.”

Nick Carvalho, Gordy Cartwright, Lucas Luzuriaga and Jamie Smith were the Cards’ 2022 captains. Ferrario, Luzuriaga and Smith earned 2022 All-FCIAC First Team honors, while Guerra, Nick Carvalho and Cartwright were 2022 All-FCIAC West Team selections.

Like last season and previous years, Putnam greatly appreciates his captains.

“They are three great captains they were three big parts of last year’s team,” he said of this year’s captains. “Two of them (Meier, Guerra) anchored the defense. Max was our lightning up front.”

Greenwich opened its 2023 season this past Thursday with a 2-1 win against Brien McMahon at Cardinal Stadium. The Cardinals will visit Fairfield Ludlowe on Sept. 12, then travel to St. Joseph on Sept. 14. Home games include: Wilton (Sept. 19), Bridgeport Central (Sept. 21), Trumbull (Sept. 30), Danbury (Oct. 4), Ridgefield (Oct. 13) and Norwalk (Oct. 17).

A 5-1 loss to Trumbull in the 2022 FCIAC Tournament semifinals was the turning point of the season the Cardinals believe.

“We were coming in a little rocky after that loss to Trumbull and then we just turned it around,” Ferrario noted. “We worked on our basics – keeping a solid backline and that solid backline, we have to give them so much credit. We had five goals the whole state tournament, but what we did so well was defend. And our strikers put it away for us.”

Obviously, GHS starts the new season with plenty of optimism and high expectations. Greenwich has won seven FCIAC Tournament championships (1995, 1998, 1999, 2005, 2013, 2016, 2017).

“Our goals are to reach the finals,” Putnam said. “The first one is, can you get enough wins to get to the state tournament? The second one is, can you get to FCIAC Tournament? Then it’s can you win the FCIAC Tournament? After that, it’s can you win the state tournament?”