Greenwich High girls rugby team rolls past Southington at Cardinal Stadium

By David Fierro on April 18, 2025 • ( Leave a comment )

**06878 Photography by Antonio Monteiro**: Greenwich High School’s varsity rugby team cruised to a 47-5 win over Southington at Cardinal Stadium on April 4, 2025. It was the season-opening game for the Cardinals.

Article written by Antonio Monteiro

The Greenwich High School girls varsity rugby team, the 12th-ranked team in the country, began its season against traditional state rival Southington High School with an impressive 47-5 win recently at Cardinal Stadium.

The Lady Cardinals have high expectations for the season with an experienced 1st XV, all of whom have played competitive rugby in the past, as well as a roster of more than 50 players.

The first half got off to a great start for the Cardinals, who scored two tries in the five minutes. Senior captains Lera Zibilich and Lauren Huang scored the tries, with Mady Jones adding the extras by converting the kicks, giving Greenwich a 12-0 lead.

**06878 Photography by Antonio Monteiro**: Greenwich High School’s girls rugby team in action vs. Southington.

The rest of the half turned into a defensive battle, with Southington disrupting the first-phase ball, maintaining possession in the tight, and blunting Greenwich’s many attacking threats. They were rewarded with an unconverted try late in the half, making the halftime score 12-5 in favor of GHS.

However, the second half was a completely different story. With Greenwich starting to get front-foot ball to their backline more often, the tide started to turn in the home team’s’ favor.

**Photo by Antonio Monteiro/06878 Photography**: Members of the Greenwich High School girls rugby team gather at their game against Southington High School at Cardinal Stadium on April 4, 2025. The Cardinals won the game, 47-5.

Huang, a Brown University commit, scored three tries in 15 minutes, with Jones adding the extras, extending Greenwich’s advantage to 33-5 midway through the second half. Junior center Georgia Petz and sophomore scrumhalf Gaby Aliaga each scored tries, and Jones added the extras, making the final score 47-5 and capping a highly impressive season-opener.

Fullback sophomore Mady Jones had a notable evening, scoring 12 points from the kicking tee, while displaying strong, aggressive running in the backline. Other impressive performances came from freshman 8th man Rowen Kelly, consistently carrying across the advantage, while using aggressive play in the loose. Meanwhile, flyhalf Lauren Huang continues to be a potent scorer, contributing 20 points for the Cards.

**06878 Photography by Antonio Monteiro:** The Cardinals girls rugby team won in convincing fashion vs. Southington.

After the game, forward captain Vera Zibilich shared her thoughts about the game: “The forwards did a good job going low in contact and maintaining possession of the ball and being very competitive in all our rucks and set pieces were very good.”

Captain Lauren Huang added: “We had a strong start, but then had trouble organizing on offense, but then we got it back and had a really strong second half.”