Entering Thursday’s FCIAC Tournament quarterfinal-round matchup against Darien, the Greenwich High School girls soccer team hadn’t lost a game since Sept. 13, going an impressive 9-0-4 since then.

Unfortunately for the Cardinals, their long unbeaten streak came to an end in the FCIAC quarterfinals.

Scoring one goal in each half, sixth-seeded Darien defeated third-seeded Greenwich, 2-0, to advance to the FCIAC Tournament semifinals. The Blue Wave (10-5-1), who avenged a regular season loss to the Cardinals, play No. 2-seeded Staples in Monday’s 7 p.m. FCIAC semifinals at New Canaan High School.

The Cardinals (10-2-4) who hosted their first FCIAC Tournament game in more than five seasons and are in the midst of their winningest season in quite a while, will next play in the CIAC Class LL state tournament. They will have plenty of time to prepare for their opening-round game in the Class LL tourney, which commences on Nov. 6.

“We have to regroup and look to states,” said Greenwich coach Simon Rumbold, whose squad posted a 5-2 regular season win against Darien at Cardinal Stadium on Oct. 6. “We are ranked sixth right now, so we’ll have a home game.”

Seniors Josie Tunney and Presley Sutter scored the goals for the Blue Wave, who withstood plenty of pressure from the Cardinals in the second half, before having the better of the play in the second half.

Unlike the regular season meeting between Greenwich and Darien in which the Cardinals capitalized on several of its scoring chances, the Cardinals were unable to light the scoreboard in Thursday’s FCIAC playoff game.

“I think we played very well and moved the ball around,” Greenwich senior forward/captain Julia Acosta said. “We had control over most of the half, we just really struggled to finish in the final third. The first half, I think it was definitely the better half for us.”

Darien took a 1-0 lead on GHS in the 27th minute, converting on a set piece. Drawing a corner kick, the Blue Wave capitalized on their chance. Sutter rose up for a header in the right side of the box in traffic and directed the ball past Cardinals goalie Lauren Huang, giving Darien a 1-0 first-half advantage.

“The first half we did our job,” GHS senior defender/captain Meghan Ross said. “We got the ball down, we made one silly mistake on the corner, but we outplayed them. The only thing we struggled with was finding the net in the final third.”

Acosta, senior forward Emma Abbazia and junior forward Taylor Carrescia helped spark Greenwich’s offense in the opening half, creating opportunities, yet Darien entered halftime with a 1-0 lead.

“In the first half we controlled the game, we had the ball the majority of the half,” Rumbold noted. “We created some decent chances without any clear-cut ones. Then, we conceded a goal on the corner, which is frustrating. We talked at halftime about being urgent and not panicking, but the second half was not good enough.”

Darien possessed the ball more in the second half, making Greenwich play defense, while taking time off the clock. Huang kept it a one-goal game, making saves off shots from senior Brinley Vrooman and sophomore Anna Von Kennel early in the second half.

Meanwhile, Greenwich’s chances were few and far between during the pivotal second half, as it attempted to tally the equalizer.

“It was just really frustrating,” Acosta noted. “We were trying to attack, but we weren’t connecting in the second half.”

“We weren’t able to advance the ball and create,” Rumbold said. We just didn’t create enough in the second half to control it and Darien had two or three chances and took two of them and that was the difference.”

With Greenwich scrambling to score the game-tying goal late in the second half, Darien extended its lead, courtesy of a great effort by Tunney. Causing a turnover, Tunney controlled the ball on the left side and registered a shot from more than 20 yards out that settled inside the far-right post, making it 2-0 in the 75th minute.

“It got tough once we got behind, we weren’t playing the way we should play,” said GHS senior defender/captain Adriana Jones, who also helped paced the squad’s defensive effort. “We had trouble finishing and connecting passes like we usually do. So, we were really disappointed, but we put in a fight until the end.”

Said Cardinals senior captain Brooke Wilkowski, who helped lead the midfield play, along with senior Erin Martschenko and several others: “This is something that we all wanted. It was all about being cohesive tonight, which we didn’t do. We haven’t lost in a month and a half, so it’s definitely a shock of but I think it will get the girls motivated.”

Indeed, the Cardinals have time to prepare and regroup for the third part of the season – the CIAC Class LL Tournament, which they plan on making a strong run in.

“It (the loss) made us realize that we can’t be in our comfort zone and expect to win or to get points every game,” Ross noted. “We have to put in the work and really want it every single one of those 80 minutes. We understand that this loss can be motivating for states.”

“I’m really proud of how far our team has come so far this season and we are going to put in a lot of work this team for states,” Jones added.

“This week we are going to work hard and go into the first round of states ready to win,” Acosta said.