Cardinals girls lacrosse team advances to Class LL quarterfinals with home opening-round victory versus Stamford

By David Fierro on May 31, 2024 • ( Leave a comment )

**Photo by Rachael Stover:** Emma Abbazia of Greenwich gathers the ball during the CIAC Class LL Lacrosse Tournament’s opening round game against Stamford. Abbazia had five goals and four assists in Greenwich’s 15-5 victory.

Clicking on offense and defense, Greenwich High School’s girls lacrosse team enjoyed quite an impressive opening round of the CIAC Class LL Lacrosse Tournament.

The fifth-seeded Cardinals scored six goals in the first quarter, added six more in the first half, built a 10-goal halftime lead and earned a decisive 15-5 victory over 12th-seeded Stamford in the first round of the Class LL state tournament at Cardinal Stadium on Tuesday.

Greenwich visits a very familiar foe, Ridgefield in Friday’s 5 p.m. CIAC Class LL quarterfinal at Tiger Hollow Stadium. Seeded fourth, Ridgefield eliminated No. 13 Norwalk, 15-3, in their Class LL tournament opener. The Tigers posted a 12-6 regular season win against the Cardinals this spring and Greenwich topped Ridgefield, 13-11, in the FCIAC Tournament quarterfinals, recently.

**Photo by Rachael Stover**: Dillon McFerran runs down the field with the ball for the Greenwich High School varsity lacrosse team in its game against Stamford in the CIAC Class LL Tournament. The Cardinals won their opening-round game, 15-5.

In Tuesday’s triumph against Stamford, Greenwich was propelled by a five-goal, four assist performance from senior attack Emma Abbazia.

“I think it was a good game, we came out wanting to win obviously and get a good start off at states,” said Abbazia, a captain, who added six draw controls and two caused turnovers to her statistics for the game. “I think we came into it really pumped up and we used our frustration from the FCIAC Tournament knowing that we had to play our best.”

**Photo by Rachael Stover:** From left to right: Mary Kate Frey, Emma Abbazia and Aubrey Roth of Greenwich at the CIAC Class LL Tournament game against Stamford on May 29, 2024. The trio helped power Greenwich’s attack.

The Cardinals made their mark in the FCIAC Tournament, winning their quarterfinal-round matchup, before being edged by conference champion New Canaan in a well-contested semifinal-round game, 9-6. Against Stamford, Abbazia gave the Cards a 1-0 lead with a goal early in the first quarter. Sophomore Leighton Collier scored next, then junior attack Aubrey Roth tallied off an Abbazia pass, giving GHS a 4-0 lead with 4:00 remaining in the opening quarter.

Black Knights senior Carolyn O’Halloran’s goal with 2:57 left in the first quarter cut Greenwich’s advantage to 4-1, but the home team broke the game open with four consecutive goals. Sophomore attack Giselle DiPietro scored two of them, with Abbazia and Roth adding one apiece in the Cardinals’ four-goal run that made it 8-1.

**Photo courtesy of Rachael Stover**: Giselle DiPietro of Greenwich with the ball during the state playoffs versus Stamford.

Giselle DiPietro recorded a hat trick with one assist, Collier tallied twice and Roth had two goals in the winning effort.

“I was very proud of the teamwork and ball movement,” Greenwich coach Tara Clough said. “Our offense worked hard on the ride and caused a bunch of turnovers. Our transition game was smooth. We look forward to seeing Ridgefield Friday.”

Also scoring two goals was senior captain/attack Mary Kate Frey, who also assisted on a goal for Greenwich (12-7).

**Photo courtesy of Rachael Stover:** Leighton Collier of the Cardinals (No. 6) controls the ball against Stamford.

“We have really been working on our teamwork and going out with intensity from the first whistle,” Frey said. “We’ve been working on being a second half team and I think that playing for each other and knowing that no one is guaranteed another game in the state tournament was key.”

Goals by Abbazia and Frey during the final two minutes of the second quarter put the Cardinals ahead of the Black Knights, 12-2, heading into halftime. Sophomore Dillon McFerran added one goal for Greenwich, which received four saves from senior goalie Katie Janis.

**Photo by Rachael Stover:** Greenwich’s Lindsay Messier, right, makes a move down the field versus visiting Stamford.

“I think we played really well, we came out really strong and capitalized on the draw controls,” said Greenwich senior captain Cate Adorney, who caused two turnovers. “On offense, we did a good job moving the ball around and looking for the assists. In the high-level games, we’re definitely going to need to look for those assists, so it was good to practice that.”

Madison Sweeney, Alice Petersen and Laureano Rikardsen had one goal apiece for Stamford (9-8).

**Photo by Rachael Stover:** Greenwich’s Emma Abbazia, right, gets ready to take a faceoff during a matchup against Stamford.

“On defense we shut them down, we limited their shots,” Adorney noted. “We were good on cutters. Offensively, we were looking for the second option, not always taking the first shot we saw but looking for one more, which really worked.”

Said GHS senior defender/captain Grace O’Connor: “I thought it was really great, our offense was moving a lot, which was great. We really have been trusting each other a lot more, everyone is positive on the team and working together. It is really gratifying knowing we have been playing so well and coming together as a team.”

**Photo courtesy of Rachael Stover:** Greenwich and Stamford players battle for the ball following a faceoff in the state tourney. The Cardinals defeated the Black Knights, 15-5, in the opening round of the tournament.

In 2023, Greenwich was victorious versus Ridgefield in the Class L quarterfinals, 13-8.

“We’re excited to play Ridgefield it’s always a super close game with them,” Abbazia noted. “It’s definitely been a really fun season, it’s sad to be my last. But it’s great to be with all my coaches and teammates.”