The field hockey season certainly began in fine fashion for Greenwich High School recently.

Scoring five first-half goals, while displaying impressive ball movement throughout, the Cardinals opened their season with a decisive 9-0 victory visiting Danbury this past Thursday.

Juniors Kate Donnellan and Stella Thiebault ignited Greenwich’s offensive attack registering two goals apiece in the season-opening victory.

Excelling on both ends of the field, the Cardinals soared to 5-0 halftime lead over the Hatters.

“I thought we played really well, we were working on transferring it side to side and I thought at the end of the game we did that way better,” Donnellan said of the squad’s passing.

Donnellan, one of Greenwich’s leading scorers as a sophomore last season, recently announced her verbal commitment to play Division I field hockey at Duke University.

She began Greenwich’s scoring against Danbury, giving the team a 1-0 with 23:49 remaining in the first half. Thiebault tallied with 22:04 remaining in the opening half, moving the ball past a pair of defenders on her way to the cage.

“I think it was awesome,” Greenwich head coach Megan Wax said of her team’s performance. “It was a good first game to get out onto the field and shake off some of our nerves. Our ball movement today was great. We were filling lanes and able to finish nice and strong.”

With 19:41 to go in the first half, Donnellan finished off a nice move to the goal, putting the Cards on top, 3-0. Thiebault added her second goal, making it 4-0 with 16:47 still left in the first half.

“We talked before the game about making sure we were selective with the type of shots we were taking and the goals that we want and I thought overall, we executed it well,” Wax noted.

Ava Caminiti, a sophomore, notched a goal at the 11:59 mark of the first half and Sofia Klingbeil, also a sophomore, scored in the second half for the Cardinals.

“Our passes – we were controlling them pretty well and connecting them,” Donnellan said.

“We talked before the game about making sure we were selective with the type of shots we were taking and the goals that we want and I thought overall, we executed it well,” Wax said.

Senior Aly Janssen, one of the Cardinals’ captains converted a shot with 16:40 to go in the second and Carlota Lopez added a second half tally in the winning effort.

Said GHS senior captain Caroline Webb: “I was really pleased with how we came out and played our first game. There were some weather issues, but both our first and second line, I thought everyone had a really strong game, everyone was hustling. This really got me excited to see what this team can do.”

Senior goalie/captain Kelly Janssen received the shutout in goal for the victors. Wax was pleased with the Cards’ execution on penalty corners and in each aspect of their game.

“The corners looked good,” she said. “We’ve been working on those. We’ve been talking about making sure we’re utilizing our passes all over the field. I think today we did an awesome job of filling the lanes and assisting on our goals.”

On Monday, Greenwich (1-1) visited FCIAC rival Danbury and played well in a 2-0 loss. The Cardinals are back in action on Thursday against visiting Norwalk.

The game is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.