In four seasons as a varsity program, Greenwich Country Day School’s girls varsity lacrosse team has made its mark in the Fairchester Athletic Association each year.

The Tigers have qualified for the postseason each year and like previous seasons, they advanced to the FAA Tournament semifinals this spring.

Coached by Caitlin Copelan, Greenwich Country Day finished its 2024 season with a record of 9-5 overall, including a 4-3 mark in the FAA. GCDS finished with a regular season record of 4-2 in the FAA, earning the No. 3 seed in the FAA Tournament.

In the FAA Tournament semifinals, third-seeded Greenwich Country Day was defeated by second-seeded host School of the Holy Child, 18-11. It marked the second straight season, the Tigers were eliminated by Holy Child in the FAA Tournament.

A strong start sparked Holy Child to the victory, putting it in the FAA Tournament final, where it lost to top-seeded Greenwich Academy on May 16, 12-5. GCDS fell behind Holy Child 7-0 in the first quarter. The host Gryphons scored three goals in the first 2:42 and seven goals during the first 6:27 of action.

“At the end of the day, we were a man-down early in the game and had four yellow cards overall,” Copelan said. “We had two yellow cards early in the game. I’m proud with how our team fought back throughout the game.”

Junior attack Ella Wilner scored Greenwich Country Day’s first goal with 2:17 remaining in the first quarter, cutting Holy Child’s advantage to 7-1. The opening quarter concluded with the Gryphons up on the Tigers, 7-1 and the home team opened its lead to 10-2 in the second quarter.

Goals from sophomore midfielder Caroline Cabrera and Wilner brought GCDS to within 10-4 at halftime. Wilner, who has committed to play lacrosse at Clemson University, then ignited the Tigers in the third quarter.

She added two more goals, one of which was set up by Holy Child turnover caused by GCDS senior defender Paloma Snisky, cutting the Tigers’ deficit to 10-6 with 8:17 to go in the third quarter.

Holy Child went into the fourth quarter with an 11-6 lead, scored the opening goal of the final quarter, then saw GCDS tally three straight times to pull to within 12-9. Wilner scored on a low shot from the right side at the 2:13 mark of the third period, then tallied in transition 1:03 into the fourth quarter, making it 12-9.

Yet Holy Child was able to pull away for the win, gaining momentum and extending its lead as the fourth quarter progressed. For the game, Wilner scored a team-best seven goals.

“We grew a lot as the game progressed,” said Wilner,” Greenwich Country Day’s leading scorer for the season. “As the game progressed, we got more into the groove offensively and defensively. We did our best to come back.”

“Holy Child is a tough team,” Wilner continued. “We haven’t been able to beat them, but I thought we gave a very good effort against them.”

Ryan Milim, an eighth grader, added two goals for the Tigers, who received several solid saves from sophomore goalie Kate Benincasa.

For the season, Greenwich Country Day earned victories against FAA opponents Hopkins School (April 12), St. Luke’s School (April 15), Hamden Hall Country Day School (April 24) and Greens Farms Academy (April 26).

Wins against non-league foes came against The Frederick Gunn School (March 27), Kingswood-Oxford School (April 1), Cheshire Academy (April 10), Saint Luke’s Parish School (April 18) and Millbrook School (April 29).

The Tigers’ roster features numerous sophomores, several freshmen and some eighth-graders, to go along with several juniors. Snisky was one of the few seniors on the squad.

“We started off the season with a young team, so it took a little while for some of us to get used to playing at the varsity level and settle in,” said GCDS sophomore defender Bianca Amen, who paced the Tigers’ defensive effort this season. “We have really grown as a team overall and it has shown during the season. Winning our game against GFA was a big deal for us, it was one of the highlights of our season.”

“Our team has improved a lot as the season has gone on,” Copelan noted. “We had a tough one-goal loss (13-12) against Canterbury, so our youth gets the best of us in some of those close games. We have a lot of players coming back next season – the majority of our players are going to be around here for the next couple of years – so they are going to gain a lot of valuable experience and they are going to continue to improve.”

Wilner, of course, will be relied upon to lead the Tigers’ offensive attack in 2025. It should be another highly productive season for the Clemson-bound Wilner.

“It will be exciting to experience a new facility and play at the collegiate level, I can’t wait,” Wilner said.