The soccer rivalry between Sacred Heart Greenwich and Greenwich Academy features numerous well-contested one-goal games, so when Thursday’s matchup between the Gators and Tigers was tied at halftime, before it was a fierce, one-goal contest in the second half, it certainly wasn’t a surprise.

In a game that saw both squads have their moments, it was the Tigers that had the final say in this tight early-season FAA match.

Scoring a goal apiece in the first and second half, host Sacred Heart Greenwich was victorious against FAA rival Greenwich Academy, 2-1. Junior midfielder Arianna Chin and senior midfielder/forward Anna Fullerton each scored a goal for the Tigers, while sophomore Maia Bostwick tallied for Greenwich Academy.

The win was the third straight for Sacred Heart (3-3), which began its season with three consecutive losses.

SHG began its 2024 season with defeats against Choate Rosemary Hall, Taft School and FAA opponent Greenwich Country Day School.

“We’ve been showing progress with each game through the FAA,” Sacred Heart Greenwich coach Stuart Smith said. “We had a disappointing first game with Greenwich Country Day, but that really lit a fire under us. Since then, we’ve had greater, focus, determination and energy.”

Such energy was evident when the Tigers faced a formidable Greenwich Academy team this past Thursday.

“The energy was so high today, because of the fans all came out and were cheering the girls on,” Smith said. “Our sideline was constantly cheering for the team on the field and that made the difference. The support we had from both sidelines helped us overcome the challenges that GA put in front of us.”

In 2023, the Tigers edged the Gators, 1-0 and the same result occurred in 2022, as SHG also pulled out a 1-0 victory against its neighborhood rival.

“It was a great game, I couldn’t have asked for more effort,” Greenwich Academy coach Kate Sands. “Two goals off set pieces is unlucky, but I love the heart and it was great, great soccer.”

Currently, Sacred Heart holds an overall record of 3-3, including a 3-1 mark in the FAA. GA is 4-3-1 overall and 3-1-1 in the FAA. The Tigers scored the game’s first goal in the opening half, with Chin tallying directly off a free kick midway through the half.

Chin perfectly bent her free kick around the wall that found its way into the goal, giving Sacred Heart a 1-0 lead. The Gators evened the score with 2:42 remaining in the first half, courtesy of a goal from Bostwick. Tigers junior goalie Olivia Figueiredo and GA junior goalie/captain Este Tejpaul each shined in goal for their respective teams.

“We had two great goals, really high quality goals,” Smith said. “We knew it would be difficult to beat their goalkeeper. Este is a phenomenal goalkeeper and it took top class finishes. It was going to take top class finishes to get past their goalkeeper and that’s what we had.”

The go-ahead goal occurred in the 48th minute – with 31:52 left in the second half. Fullerton notched a goal off a corner kick with the assist going to Chin.

“It was Ari taking the corner, I passed to Ari, I ran around her and she passed to me and she took a shot directly to the corner,” Fullerton said of her game-winning goal.

Fullerton discussed how the team’s performance has steadily improved as the season has progressed.

“We’ve gotten better each game, we started off with a 2-0 loss to GCDS, which wasn’t good, but each game I think we’ve gotten better,” Fullerton noted. “We have a good, solid defense, but our attacking has lacked and the past two games, we’ve really shown up with that.”

After Greenwich Academy fell behind, 2-1, it increased its pressure and registered several shots on goal during the latter portion of the second half. Junior Maggie Whidden, sophomore Clemi Milligan and Bostwick helped lead GA’s offense, but Figueiredo stood strong in goal, making several key saves to preserve the Tigers’ slim lead.

Forward Madison Hartnett, a senior, defender Morgan Sfreddo, a senior and junior forward Eva Wilkerson are Sacred Heart’s captains.

“GA is always a big game, especially this year, because the FAA is so competitive, it was also a big FAA win,” Hartnett said. “We have a new team, so it’s nice to get these wins.”

“It was more of a who wanted it game,” Hartnett continued. “Because we had all of our fans here and it’s a home game, it was really important to show who wanted it more. It was about getting to every ball first.”

Senior Gianna DeBono, senior Ruby Montanez and Tejpaul are the Gators’ 2024 captains. GA has posted victories against Greenwich Country Day School, School of the Holy Child, King School and Hamden Hall Country Day School.

“It’s a great group of girls, we have a lot of talent,” Sands said. “We’re putting the pieces together, figuring things out. I couldn’t ask for more dedicated, hard-working kids.”

Up next for Sacred Heart is a road game against FAA foe Hopkins School on Oct. 2. Greenwich Academy plays Taft School in Watertown on Sept. 30.

“At this point of the season I feel like we’ve really come together,” Sacred Heart sophomore defensive center midfielder Lucia Coviello said. “At the beginning of the season we struggled a little bit, especially since we were such a new and young team. I feel like we’ve come together especially against a team like GA.”

“At halftime we were focused on staying connected in the middle and we were able to do that in the second half,” Coviello continued.

Said Fullerton: “I think it sets us up great for the season, especially since it’s so early and we still have so many FAA games to play. This pumps me up for the season and I’m super excited.”

“Something we’ve been struggling with is our finishes – taking our chances,” Smith noted. “We’ve had a lot of practice in front of goal. Olivia had to come up big and make some good saves for us in the second half. We took a lot of pressure from them. The girls were disciplined, organized and worked hard for each other. It was a phenomenal effort.”