Persistence paid off for the Greenwich High School field hockey team on its Senior Night against Stamford on Tuesday.

The Cardinals generated a wealth of shots during its Senior Night matchup against the Black Knights at Cardinal Stadium and drew numerous penalty corners.

Yet for the first 60 minutes of action, the score remained tied at 0-0 due in large part to the outstanding play of Stamford senior goalie Lauren Dowling, who made a number of saves off shots coming at her in every direction.

Finally, with less than five minutes remaining in overtime, the Cardinals lit the scoreboard.

Sophomore midfielder Julia Lattuada recorded a goal off a penalty corner, giving Greenwich a hard-fought 1-0 win over Stamford in an FCIAC game that saw the Cardinals spend plenty of time in the Black Knights’ circle.

On the game-winning goal, Thibeault received the insert pass from senior captain Liv Caminiti and from the top of the circle, drove a shot that whizzed past Dowling into the left corner of the goal.

“We didn’t want to give up and we didn’t want to lose the game and that corner had to go in there was like five minutes left,” Lattuada said of her game-winner. “Liv inserted it and I just touched it and swung on it. We were all ready to play and we were all really excited.”

For the game, Greenwich drew more than 15 penalty corners and took a lot of shots on goal each quarter. The Cardinals tested Dowling in goal throughout, sending the ball to the cage in all directions.

“I think we definitely underestimated them, their goalie played great, they’re a great team,” Greenwich senior forward/captain Aly Janssen said. “I think we really need to play simple and not frantic.”

“I have a lot of confidence in this team and I knew we could do it,” Aly Janssen continued. “Also, what we need to do is to shoot around the goalie and move the goalie.”

Junior forward Kate Donnellan helped paced Greenwich’s offensive attack. Donnellan registered five shots on goal against Stamford, while Lattuada had four shots on goal and Stella Thibeault, a junior forward took five shots for GHS.

Sophomore forward Clara Ojea had two shots on goal, while senior captain Caroline Babb, Aly Janssen and sophomore forward Carlota Lopez each had a shot on goal in the winning effort.

“I thought the team was really persistent,” Babb said. “We never gave up. Everyone was working really hard. Stamford was a great team. They had a really tough defense to get past, but I was proud of how everyone kept going. We didn’t lose the energy.”

Indeed, frustration could have set in since Stamford kept the game scoreless for so long, yet the Cards kept applying the pressure.

“We tried our best to keep our composure,” Babb noted. “That’s one of the things in a tough game – keeping your composure helps keep the tone of the game.”

Babb caused four penalty corners, Donnellan drew four corners and senior captain/midfielder Liv Caminiti intercepted three passes for the victors.

“Their goalie was very good and their defense was very strong, they came out very fast,” Caminiti said. “We knew we just needed to either move their fly coming out or their goalie. When we scored the winning goal, it was a weight lifted off my shoulders. Along with the excitement of Senior Day, that was the icing on the cake for us.”

With the victory against Stamford and a 3-1 win at Cardinal Stadium today versus Fairfield Ludlowe, Greenwich improved its record to 8-2-0-1 in the FCIAC and 9-3-0-1 overall.

An improving Stamford squad is 3-9in the FCIAC. Stamford coach Kaylin English credited Dowling’s impressive effort.

“That was one of the best games I’ve ever seen her play,” English said. “She works really hard, she’s a senior and this year everything is coming together for her.”

“Our defense has been doing great these last couple of games,” English continued. “They are holding us together and doing everything they can. They work together and they pick each other up. That was really big for us, especially because Greenwich is a powerhouse and we are working to come up. That was a great positive moment for us.”

Kelly Janssen, a senior captain, earned the shutout win in goal for Greenwich, which paid tribute to its seniors on Senior Night. The Cardinals play again tomorrow against FCIAC rival Staples in Westport at 3:45 p.m.

“I feel good about the team,” Babb noted. “Everyone is working hard in games, practices, conditioning – everything. I think we can do really well when we get into the more competitive parts of the season.”

“I think we’re playing well,” Aly Janssen added. “There are moments where we’re showing our full potential. There are moments where we can work on doing things better. But I’m really confident in our team and confident for the rest of the season.”