Greenwich boys soccer team posts key late-season home win against Ridgefield

By David Fierro on October 15, 2023 • ( Leave a comment )

Photo by David Fierro: Rodrigo Lopez of Greenwich, left, controls the ball along the sideline during a varsity soccer game against Ridgefield at Cardinal Stadium on Oct. 13, 2023. Also in on the play is Brandon Gmelin of Ridgefield.

Generating goals wasn’t an issue for Greenwich High’s boys soccer team during its first six games of the season, as it produced 27 goals during that span. However, scoring was a bit of an issue for the Cardinals over its past two games entering Friday’s matchup at Cardinal Stadium against Ridgefield.

The Cardinals headed into their FCIAC game against the Tigers off a scoreless draw versus Stamford on Tuesday, after they were edged by Darien, 1-0, on Oct. 6. Yet Friday, Greenwich got back on track offensively.

Receiving a late first-half goal from Rodrigo Lopez and second half tallies from Sean McConnell and Maximo Ferrario, Greenwich earned a decisive 3-0 victory over visiting Ridgefield.

Photo by David Fierro: Maximo Ferrario scored a key goal for Greenwich in its 3-0 win over Ridgefield.

The home triumph raised Greenwich’s record to 9-2-1. Currently, the Cardinals are in second place in the FCIAC West Division with 28 points. Staples stands in first place at 9-1-2 with 29 points. In Friday’s matchup versus Ridgefield, the Cardinals had several scoring chances over the course of the opening half and scored the game’s first goal in the 38th minute.

“We had a rough week last week and this is how we needed to bounce back,” said Ferrario, a senior forward/tri-captain. “We started off super strong even though we didn’t have a goal until the last few minutes. It was what we needed and it was a great game.”

Controlling a pass from Ferrario on the left side, Lopez directed a shot past Ridgefield’s goalie into the right corner of the goal, giving Greenwich a 1-0 lead with 1:59 left in the first half.

Greenwich goalie Fin Junius, right, is congratulated by his Greenwich teammates after registering a shutout vs. Ridgefield.

“I saw Rodrigo running behind and I slipped it through,” Ferrario said of the goal. “It was great to see that ball in the back of the net.”

Cardinals senior goalie Fin Junius kept it a scoreless game until the home team tallied late in the opening half. Junius made a diving save off a header from Ridgefield senior Frederico Culpi Nunes, then stopped a shot from Tigers junior Luke Dadasovich in the 32nd minute.

” Fin pulled off two good saves to help go into halftime with the lead,” Greenwich coach Kurt Putnam said. “He earned his playing time today.”

Photo by David Fierro: Sean McConnell registered a clutch goal for Greenwich in its victory against Ridgefield.

McConnell extended Greenwich’s advantage to 2-0 with a key second-half goal.

“We started really well, we were unfortunate not to score,” McConnell said. “We had a lot of good chances, but we were unable to finish them. But luckily, toward the end of the first half, we were able to finish our chance and overall, it was a pretty solid performance.”

McConnell noted the significance of the game’s first goal.

Greenwich junior Matthew Maloney moves the ball along the sideline during a varsity soccer game against Ridgefield at Cardinal Stadium in Greenwich on Oct. 13, 2023. The Cardinals won, 3-0.

“It was really important to get that goal, because going into halftime, we were pretty disappointed not to have at least scored,” he scored. “So, to get that to go into the half was huge for us. It was something for us to build off in the second half.”

With 10:35 remaining in the second half, Ferrario sealed the Cardinals’ scoring, tallying off a pass from senior Tomas Biagini, making it 3-0. On the play, Ferrario beat a Ridgefield defender down the field after receiving the pass from Biagini.

Ridgefield’s Brandon Gmelin, left and Greenwich’s Nathan Lapin in action during FCIAC boys soccer action.

“Tomas played a great ball to me and I just put my body in front of it and put it in the back of the net,” Ferrario said of his goal.

Junius made four saves in goal for Greenwich, which was paced defensively by senior tri-captain Andre Meier and junior Mink Van Tuijl. The Cardinals should be getting senior tri-captain/defender Gerardo Guerra and junior Pietro Carvalho back on the field too, as they recover from injuries.

Greenwich’s Matthew Maloney controls the ball down the left sideline during a matchup against Ridgefield.

Greenwich had been shut out in three of its previous five games, so seeing the team convert on some of their chances was a welcome sight to Putnam.

“We’ve been playing quite well and creating opportunities, but we haven’t been taking them,” Putnam noted. “We had become this team that had to rally in the second half and we had to do it again today. The only difference today was we scored goals in the second half.”

Junior Mink Van Tuijl of Greenwich in action during a varsity soccer game against Ridgefield.

“We are going back to doing a lot of shooting, finishing exercises it could only help,” Putnam continued. “The second half, we did score good goals.”

Greenwich hosts FCIAC rival Norwalk tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. on Senior Night.

“In the second half, we were making efforts to run for one another and and we showed real passion to not just work defensively, but off ball too – running and supporting each other,” McConnell said.