They won the FCIAC Tournament championship, registered 18 victories, earned the FCIAC West Division title and advanced to the CIAC Class LL Tournament semifinals – indeed, it was an absolutely sensational season for the Greenwich High School boys soccer team.

The Cardinals lost only once all season, with their lone loss coming on Nov. 12 against Farmington in the semifinal-round of the Class LL Tournament, a 4-1 defeat that was closer than the final score indicated. Though the loss ended the Cardinals’ hopes of appearing in the finals of the Class LL tourney, which they won in 2022, Greenwich coach Kurt Putnam knows the 2024 season for his squad was one to remember.

“We had a great season, one loss in 22 games,” said Putnam said. “If someone had offered this at the beginning of the season, that we would lose one game out of 22 and we would win a championship of some sort, then I would have taken it.”

Captained by senior forward/midfielder Matthew Maloney and goalie Miguel Leon, Greenwich began its 2024 campaign with six straight wins, four of which were by shutout, defeating Fairfield Ludlowe, St. Joseph, Wilton, Bridgeport Central, Staples and Trumbull. The six consecutive victories were followed by three straight ties, as the Cardinals dueled to draws against Danbury, Darien and Stamford. Since tying Stamford, 2-2, on Oct. 1, the Cards reeled off 12 wins in a row, before falling to seventh-seeded Farmington in the Class LL Tournament semifinals at Newtown High School in Sandy Hook.

Included in their 12-game win streak was a 1-0 triumph against a tough Stamford squad in the championship game of the FCIAC Tournament, giving the Cardinals their first conference tournament title since 2017. During their long success streak, GHS defeated Southington, 6-1, Wilbur Cross, 1-0 and Norwalk, 4-1, on their way to reaching the Class LL semifinals.

“It was an incredible group of young men and you could see, even when we were down, we never gave up,” Putnam noted.

Indeed, Greenwich usually had a rapid response whenever challenged by the opposition. For the season, the Cardinals allowed only 17 goals in 22 games, while registering 12 shutouts. Senior Finn Hugh-Jones, the MVP of the FCIAC tourney’s championship game, senior Patrick Miller, senior Juan Bruzzone and junior Henry Davis were among some of the Cards’ defensive standouts, while Maloney, junior Francisco Luzuriaga, senior Santiago Lattuada, senior Gui Rizzo, junior Manny Morilla and junior Pietro Carvalho each scored clutch goals throughout the season, sparking the squad’s offense.

In the Class LL semifinal matchup versus Farmington, Greenwich had possession a good amount of time and generated approximately a dozen shots on goal.

“Any other day you watch this and say to yourself, the team that’s in red must be winning, but we weren’t,” Putnam noted. “No way was 4-1 a reflection of the game. They had six shots and four of them went in. I don’t know how many shots or chances we had and sometimes that happens, it’s a cruel game. The scoreline doesn’t reflect the balance of play, I think we may have edged overall possession and opportunities.”

Farmington scored the game’s first goal. Senior midfielder Ethan Halstead’s shot zipped past Leon inside the left post, giving Farmington a 1-0 lead in the 19^th minute.

The Cardinals has several corner kicks in the first half and Maloney, Luzuriaga and Lattuada made their presence felt offensively, but Farmington held on to its one-goal advantage.

Goalie Dante Fierro, a junior, had something to do with that, making several key saves throughout this semifinal-round matchup. Just 19 seconds into the second half, Farmington took a 2-0 edge. Christian Fierro, a senior forward, had a nice finish off a pass from Halstead, putting GHS in a two-goal hole.

The situation became even more challenging for the Cards when senior Rupesh Raparla finished off a free kick from senior midfielder Sean Canada, making it 3-0 in the 46^th minute.

“We came up against a team that everything they did toward the net went in,” Putnam added. “And they weren’t just finishes, they were like bangers. That’s the game where it all came right in the right moments for them.”

Lattuada sent a pass to Luzuriaga, who from the left side, directed a shot past Fierro, cutting Farmington’s lead to 3-1 with 28:32 remaining. Farmington responded with a goal from junior Ian Manton off a rebound on a corner kick with 19:48 left to play.

“Greenwich, they’re an excellent team, this is the third time we’ve played them in the last six years,” Farmington coach Nick Boorman added. “Their team was really good and I give them all the credit in the world. We knew some of our strengths that might work against them and we were able to hit on them.”

The Cardinals scored 68 goals in 23 games this season, which was one of the most successful campaigns in team history.

“It’s a gut punch because I don’t think we were outplayed,” Putnam said of the state semifinal match. “It just was at the end of the day, they took their chances and you have to give them credit for that. They had great finishes.”