Two goals from competing in the state final.

That’s exactly how close the Greenwich High School girls lacrosse team came from defeating Darien and earning a spot in the CIAC Class LL Tournament’s championship game.

The fifth-seeded Cardinals did all they could to post a victory against top-seeded Darien in Tuesday’s Class LL Tournament semifinals at Fairfield University’s Rafferty Stadium, giving their optimum effort throughout.

Unfortunately for the Cardinals, only two goals were scored in the fourth quarter and the Blue Wave scored both of them. Sophomore Anna Von Kennel’s goal with 10:44 remaining in the fourth quarter gave Darien a 7-6 victory over Greenwich in the semifinal-round. The Blue Wave play second-seeded New Canaan in Saturday’s 2 p.m. Class LL title game at Sacred Heart University.

“I am beyond proud of my team and the improvement they made this season,” Greenwich coach Tara Clough said. “Our defense was entirely new. They committed to the unit and excelled all season. Darien is a very athletic program with many players committed at the next level.”

Senior attack Emma Abbazia concluded her outstanding Greenwich career with a two-goal, one assist performance to lead the Cardinals, who advanced to the Class LL semifinals with a 10-8 win over Ridgefield in the quarterfinals. Greenwich was seeking its first appearance in the state final since 2013 and first state title since 2012. Abbazia, one of the Cardinals’ captains, will continue her lacrosse career at the University of Maryland.

“We played so well and it really shows in the score,” Abbazia said. “It was a really close score and that’s the closest we’ve been at least for me, any time playing them. So, I’m proud of the team and it’s a good end to the season. It was really impressive on our end that we were able to stay that close.”

Abbazia was the main focus of Darien’s defense. She was face guarded, tightly defended and shadowed throughout this semifinal-round matchup.

“It’s hard with that, but it’s fun,” Abbazia said of the challenge of being tightly marked. “I enjoy the close competition and intensity.”

Greenwich gave Darien a tough game in a 10-6 regular season loss and Tuesday, it played the Blue Wave to a 2-2 standstill following the first quarter, then entered halftime in a 4-4 tie.

The Cardinals began the Class LL tourney with a 15-5 win over Stamford, then topped rival Ridgefield, 10-8, in the quarterfinal-round. They finished their strong season with a record of 13-8.

“It was a hard game, we knew they were going to be tough going into this game,” Darien senior Sadie Stafford said. “It was back-and-forth on both sides.”

Sophomores Giselle DiPietro, Sophia DiPietro and Dillon McFerran each scored one goal for the Cardinals (13-8), who received five saves from senior goalie Katie Janis. When the Cardinals had possession, they were patient for the most part, taking time off the clock, while looking for a clear shot on goal.

“I feel like Emma Abbazia is a great leader we fell short, there has been a lot of improvement over the season and it’s been great to watch,” Clough said. “The teamwork was amazing and I think we’ve grown a lot.”

Stafford recorded two goals and two assists, senior Kelly Holmes had two goals and one assist and sophomore Anna Von Kennel tallied twice to pace Darien’s offense.

“I’m really proud of my team, I think we worked really hard for the entire game,” Von Kennel said. “Not every call went our way and we just worked through everything. The entire week, we’ve worked on our shooting and the fundamentals and I think you could see it on the field.”

Annabel Adams, a junior, added a goal for Darien, which was sparked by eight draw controls from Stafford and a pair of draw controls from senior Maggie Bellissimo.

“I thought the difference-maker was Sadie taking the draw,” Darien coach Lisa Lindley noted. “I think she probably won 95 percent of them, so that gave us possession.”

Lindley expected a tough, challenging game from Greenwich and knew her team was primed to face a stern semifinal-round test.

“Our schedule all year has prepared them for this moment,” Lindley noted. “The strength of our schedule – now it’s coming to fruition. Because we’ve had no easy opponents.”

Giselle DiPietro gave GHS a 6-5 lead when she scored a man-up goal off a dodge with 7:42 remaining in the third quarter. Stafford knotted the score at 6-6 when she shot low and bounced a shot past Janis 46 seconds into the fourth quarter.

Von Kennel scored the game-winning goal with 10:44 left to play in the final quarter.

Holmes’ goal off a Stafford pass gave the Blue Wave a 5-4 edge with 10:42 left in the third quarter. McFerran knotted the score at 5-5 for GHS, scoring off an assist from Giselle DiPietro at the 8:42 mark of the third quarter.

Sophia DiPietro notched a goal with 1:20 left in the second quarter, putting the Cards on top, 4-3, before Darien tied the score at 4-4 heading into halftime.

“We made a couple of mistakes on offense, but I’m really proud of how we came back from it,” Stafford said. “There was a lot of mental shifting from one thing to another and I’m proud of how everyone was able to recover offensively and defensively.”

Said Lindley: ““I thought the difference-maker was Sadie taking the draw,” Lindley noted. “I think she probably won 95 percent of them, so that gave us possession.”

Captained by Abbazia, Cate Adorney, Grace O’Connor and Mary Kate Frey, Greenwich also advanced to the FCIAC Tournament semifinals, where it played New Canaan tough in losing 9-6.

“We gave it everything we had,” Clough said. “The future of the program is bright for GHS and I look forward to bringing in another strong class.”