After being edged in tight games against Mamaroneck and Fairfield Ludlowe, the Greenwich High School field hockey team got back on the winning track in impressive fashion on Monday, shutting out Danbury, 10-0, in an FCIAC matchup held on the road.

Senior captain Kate Donnellan, who has committed to play field hockey at Duke University, recorded three goals to help lead the Cardinals (2-2) past the Hatters. Donnellan scored the game’s first three goals, with Emilia Arroyo assisting on her first goal.

Sofia Klingbeil, a senior captain, who will continue her field hockey career at Middlebury, scored the next goal against Danbury, giving Greenwich a 4-0 lead. Ava Caminiti assisted on Klingbeil’s goal, then Josefina Balaguer tallied, before Caminiti scored, making it 6-0.

Julia Van de Rotte notched a goal and Julia DeLuca scored twice, putting GHS on top of Danbury, 9-0. Ava Cocozza sealed the scoring, tallying off a pass from Lexi Carino. The victory evened Greenwich’s record to 2-2 heading into Thursday’s home game against longtime FCIAC rival Darien.

On the road against Fairfield Ludlowe this past Friday, the Cardinals were defeated in a well-contested game, 5-3. The Falcons scored one goal apiece in the first and second quarter to take a 2-0 advantage. Lilly Evers brought Greenwich to within 2-1 with a goal off an assist by senior captain Stella Thibeault, who has committed to play field hockey at Cornell.

Trailing 4-1 in the fourth quarter, Donnellan converted a shot for GHS, which also received a goal from Arroyo in the final quarter. Greenwich played Mamaroneck prior to traveling to Fairfield Ludlowe High School.

“It was definitely hard having two challenging games back-to-back so early in the season,” Greenwich coach Megan Wax said. “To start the season, we have four games in seven days, so we are having to figure out our chemistries and rotations in actual live play.”

“It’s been helpful to see so early on what we need to really focus in on and we are ready to work hard to correct all of our issues and continue to execute our strengths,” Wax continued.

On September 5, Greenwich hosted Mamaroneck and in a back-and-forth game, the Tigers posted a hard-fought 3-2 victory. Mamaroneck tallied twice in the first quarter, with the first goal coming 2:14 into the opening quarter.

“We were a little slow to step, Mamaroneck came out on fire, there was no hesitation at all,” Wax noted. “They were playing and reacting a little bit faster than we were, which resulted in those goals. The second half we looked a lot more like ourselves. We played more offensively in the second half.”

Clara Ojea Quintana scored Greenwich’s first goal, which came off a penalty corner, which occurred with just over two minutes remaining in the third quarter.

With 9:44 left in the fourth quarter, the highlight of the game came for the Cardinals. Ojea Quintana registered a goal off assists from Arroyo and Klingbeil, capitalizing on two outstanding passes up the field. Ojea Quintana quickly got her stick on the second pass, knocking the ball into the cage.

“We talked about how they were overplaying us on the sides and that was a perfect connection from Emi all the way up to Sofi to Clara with the right touch,” Wax said of the team’s second goal. “We have a lot to be proud of. Our defense picked it up in the second half and played calm and composed. In the second half, we had a lot of really good looks, those two goals were beautiful we had a lot of near misses.”