There are only four teams remaining in the CIAC Class LL Girls Lacrosse Tournament and Greenwich High School is one of those squads.

For the second straight season, the Cardinals are appearing in the Class LL Tournament semifinals. Seeded fifth, Greenwich advanced to the Class LL Tournament’s semifinal round with a well-earned 10-8 victory over fourth-seeded host Ridgefield in the tourney’s quarterfinal-round this past Saturday at Tiger Hollow Stadium.

Greenwich, which has a record of 13-7, will play top-seeded Darien in Tuesday’s 4:30 p.m. Class LL semifinals at Fairfield University. Second-seeded New Canaan faces third-seeded Wilton in the other Class LL semifinal tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Fairfield University in the all-FCIAC final four.

Following a strong showing in the FCIAC Tournament semifinals, where it lost to eventual champion New Canaan, Greenwich was victorious against Stamford in the first round of the Class LL tourney, 15-5, then topped Ridgefield in the quarterfinals. The Cardinals also defeated Ridgefield in the FCIAC Tournament quarterfinals, 13-11.

The Greenwich-Ridgefield postseason rivalry extends beyond this postseason. The Cards were victorious against the Tiger in the 2023 Class LL quarterfinals, 13-8 and are 5-3 against Ridgefield over the past three seasons.

“Our team fought hard for possessions and worked to take care of the ball,” Greenwich coach Tara Clough said of the Cardinals’ playoff win against Ridgefield this past Saturday. “Knowing their strengths, we tried to stay patient in possession and capitalize on opportunities.”

Senior attack Emma Abbazia recorded a team-high four goals and added an assist to power the Cardinals’ offense against Ridgefield. Sophomore Dillon McFerran recorded a hat trick, while sophomore Giselle DiPietro scored two goals for Greenwich, which entered halftime with an 8-6 lead on Ridgefield.

Leighton Collier, a sophomore, had a goal for Greenwich, which received a team-best seven draw controls from Abbazia and two draw controls from Giselle DiPietro. McFerran and senior Cate Adorney had one draw control each for GHS. The Cards led the Tigers, 10-7, after three quarters of action.

Senior goalie Katie Janis made six saves for the victors.

“Our ‘D’ played as a cohesive, solid unit,” Clough noted. “Offensively, we moved the ball well and had players step up.”

Behind a balanced scoring attack, paced by the University of Maryland-bound Abbazia, Greenwich has won nine of its last 12 games going into Tuesday’s Class LL semifinal versus Darien. The Cardinals played Darien tough in dropping a 10-6 decision at Cardinal Stadium on May 9.

For the season, Greenwich has scored 10 or more goals in 13 of its 20 games this season and is 13-0 when it does score in double figures this season.