Sacred Heart Greenwich’s varsity field hockey team faced a big test in the form of formidable Taft School this past Wednesday and the Tigers were up to the challenge against their NEPSAC foe, as the score was tied late in the third quarter.

Yet Taft, which advanced to the championship game of the NEPSAC Class A Tournament in 2022, finished strong, tallying twice late in the third quarter and once in the fourth to remain undefeated.

Receiving goals from four different players, visiting Taft topped Sacred Heart Greenwich, 4-1, in an intense, early-season matchup.

The Tigers, who opened their 2023 season with convincing victories against School of the Holy Child and Kent School sport a record of 2-1, heading into Wednesday’s home game versus Choate Rosemary Hall. Sacred Heart was supposed to visit Phillips Exeter Academy on Saturday, but the game was postponed due to heavy rain that blanketed the area.

“I think Taft is a super strong team and we definitely stayed in it, 1-1 going into the second half,” SHG senior tri-captain/forward Payton Sfreddo said. “They called that timeout and we kind of lost a lot of our momentum. It was tough for us to come back from that. It’s a great game to have early on in the season to learn from and grow from.”

Indeed, the game was a good learning lesson for the Tigers, whose roster includes a number of first season varsity athletes.

“For our super young team, we did a good job,” Sacred Heart coach Alex Gheorghe said. “Another positive note is that we will learn from this game.”

Trailing 1-0, the Tigers tied the score at 1-1 when senior tri-captain/forward Emma Marvin converted a penalty corner with 8:47 remaining in the third quarter.

The score remained tied until the 4:43 mark of the third quarter. That’s when Taft junior Estelle Maggard tallied, giving the visitors the lead for good at 2-1. With 2:05 left to play in the third period, junior Britty Page broke loose for a transition goal for Taft, making it 3-1.

In the fourth quarter, Truus van Wees scored with 6:54 to go for the victors. Sacred Heart generated scoring chances in the second half, forcing several penalty corners, while applying pressure in front of the goal.

“We had opportunities, we just had to capitalize in front of the goal,” SHG senior captain/forward Charly Nemec said. “A lot of times we weren’t changing it up enough, they kind of read us. They are also a strong and fast team. I think we need to work on our small game in front of the goal, so we can put it in.”

Said Gheorghe: “I think it was pretty even, it was 1-1 for a long time. But they got a little bit more momentum than us and their physicality had an important role over us, as well as their experience.”

In the second half, the Tigers succeeded at possessing the ball more on Taft’s end, resulting in several shots on goal and penalty corners.

“I think a positive that we had was once we had it on our side of the field, we had to capitalize on hitting it up and moving forward to the goal, instead of lurking back in our area,” Marvin noted. “A lot of times simple mistakes could lead to them getting breakaways, which led to their goals. In the second half, we did a really good job of moving the ball forward. This game taught us a lot about ourselves and our team.”

Junior Ainsley Clough helped lead the Tigers’ offensive attack with her aggressive, effective play throughout.

“It’s a great game to have early on in the season to learn from and grow from,” Sfreddo said. “I think we can take positives away from it.”

“Right now, we are developing our press and the way we defend, which is what we need to continue to work on,” Nemec said. “We have a lot of young players, so we’re kind of working on that.”

Sacred Heart will look to get back on the winning track when its hosts NEPSAC opponent Choate Rosemary Hall Wednesday at 4 p.m.

“It’s been a really fun season so far, as a co-captain with Emma and Charly, just growing a great atmosphere, a great team, alongside with two great coaches,” Sfreddo said.