Sacred Heart Greenwich’s Varsity A lacrosse team seized a six-goal lead on Greenwich Academy’s Varsity A lacrosse squad in the first half, yet there’s usually plenty of drama and tension when these longtime, neighborhood foes meet, so when the Gators rallied to tie the score in the fourth quarter it was reminiscent of a lot of matchups from the past in this storied rivalry.

Playing with a man-up advantage the majority of the second half and having a three-player edge in the fourth quarter, Greenwich Academy staged a spirited comeback and it was anybody’s game during the final frantic minutes of action.

Yet, Charley Bacigalupo made sure the Tigers had enough offense to emerge victorious in this year’s showdown. Bacigalupo, a senior midfielder, scored a game high five goals in Sacred Heart Greenwich’s dramatic 11-10 win over visiting Greenwich Academy on April 23.

“GA is always a big game for us and it was so exciting, because we won by one,” Bacigalupo said. “But I think there’s a lot to work on from that game.”

Yellow cards, which were the result of fouls, put the Tigers down three players late in the fourth quarter. With GA on a three-player advantage, SHG had to bear down to stop the Gators’ attack and maintain its tenuous one-goal edge.

“They were up by three (players) the last few minutes, that’s definitely something to work on,” Bacigalupo noted. “I think we played disciplined by the end and we fixed it. I think we were all amped up and excited to play this game today.”

Junior attack Georgia Lillis recorded two goals and one assist, while sophomore midfielder Maggie Sweeney tallied twice for Sacred Heart (9-1). The Tigers held a 7-1 advantage early in the second quarter, but the Gators closed to within 8-5 at halftime.

“We’re definitely feeling super relieved,” said SHG senior midfielder/captain Daphne Fallon, who added one goal and one assist. “It was a hard-fought game, GA is super talented, we definitely had to earn the win. It didn’t come easy, but I thought it came down to our hustle. We were able to come together and get a win.”

Greenwich Academy, which entered this matchup riding a six-game winning streak, received a team-best four goals from junior midfielder Leighton Collier and a hat trick from senior attack/captain Katie Barr. Gators first-year coach Tee Ladouceur was impressed with her squad’s comeback ability.

“Something that I’ve pushed with this team from the very beginning is have each other’s backs, make each other look good,” Ladouceur said. “We want to make sure we send two, or three or four people to every ground ball, so that we have the ability to make more mistakes and still get the ball back. That’s something that I didn’t see us do enough at the beginning of the game.”

“I felt like we were a step behind, maybe a little bit nervous,” Ladouceur continued. “When things aren’t going well, I tell them to focus on ground balls and hustle plays and that seemed to do the trick and come back. It may have been a different game if we had a little more possession, but I’m proud of our effort. It was a great performance and they should be proud of themselves.”

Sophomore midfielder Delaney Enright’s goal with 1:46 remaining in the third quarter evened the score at 9-9 for Greenwich Academy (6-2). The Gators had possession the opening minute of the fourth quarter, but SHG goalie Olivia Franco, who shared goalkeeping duties with Addy Flinchbaugh, kept the score tied.

Bacigalupo tallied with 10:34 left in the final quarter, giving Sacred Heart the lead for good at 10-9. Her goal off a free position attempt at the 7:20 mark of the quarter made it 11-9 in favor of the hosts.

“We started off really strong in the first quarter and we were not disciplined in the second quarter,” Bacigalupo said. “So, we had to work our way back to how we played in the first quarter. I’m so excited that we won, it’s our last GA game, so it’s kind of sad, but we’re also excited.”

A save off a SHG shot by GA freshman goalie Lauren Connell enabled the Gators to gain possession late in the fourth quarter. Forcing a free position attempt, Barr converted her ensuing 8-meter shot, cutting Sacred Heart’s lead to 11-10 with 3:48 left to play in this back-and-forth game.”

“It was really tough, in the first quarter, they came out stronger and we got all our nerves out,” Barr said. “I think in the next three quarters we contested.”

Sweeney had two goals, while freshman attack Peyla Carcaterra added one goal for the Tigers, who received nine draw controls from Bacigalupo, six draw controls from Sweeney and a draw control from Lillis.

“We’re proud of our team, we wish we weren’t in that position, but they dug deep and when the discipline mattered at the end, we were able to come up with it,” Sacred Heart coach Jackie Goldmann said of her squad playing shorthanded on the field in the second half due to fouls/yellow cards. “Overall, we can play a better game from start to finish. We have to play more disciplined; we’re a better team than we showed today, but overall, the girls capitalized when we needed to. We were a man-down, two-men down, three men down. We came up with draw controls though and we have to capitalize when we have possession and the ball is in our stick.”

Freshman midfielder Maddie Lane had one goal and one draw control, senior attack Chloe Cook had one assist, senior midfielder/defender/captain Ruby Montanez had one draw control and sophomore midfielder/defender Niamh posted two draw controls for GA, which was paced defensively by senior captain Lila Volpe, senior Lila Cabot, junior Ellie Watts, Montanez and junior Reese Quinn.

“We played really well, we worked well as a team,” Lane said. “We had a rough start, but then we got going and started working together. We left it all out there and really pushed to the end. Now, we’re going to bounce back from this loss.”

Three goals from Bacigalupo and two from Sweeney helped propel the Tigers to a 6-1 lead. Carcaterra’s tally off a dodge from behind the net put SHG ahead, 7-1, at the 9:11 mark of the second quarter. Barr converted an 8-meter shot, then Collier also scored on an 8-meter attempt, bringing GA to within 7-3. Another Collier goal off a free position shot made it 7-4 with 5:07 to go in the third quarter, prompting a SHG timeout.

Fallon shot low and scored with 3:00 to go in the second period, then Collier tallied again, making the halftime score 8-5, Sacred Heart.

“It was a challenge, but trusting our teammates, trusting our skills really came in handy,” Fallon said. “We knew we could do it if we relied on each other and kept it clean. We had to clean up some of the mistakes, but we were able to do it and come out with the win.”

The Tigers held a 14-7 shots on goal advantage in the first half, then in the second half, the Gators showed some more rhythm on offense. Enright scored off a Barr pass, then after Fallon tallied, GA had two straight goals, the second of which was scored by Barr to close to within 9-8 with 4:35 left in the third quarter.

“This momentum will definitely carry over,” Barr said. “We played one of the best games we’ve played. It was an unlucky start, but I think this will help us get the ball rolling. They kept switching their defense from man to zone, so we had to adjust to that.”

Both team’s defensive players/units competed well throughout in this hard-fought, physical matchup. Hartnett, senior Morgan Sfreddo and sophomore midfielder/defender Addie Callaway helped pace Sacred Heart’s defensive effort.

“There was a lot of adrenaline out there, it’s a lot of running around,” said SHG senior defender/midfielder Maddie Hartnett, one of the Tigers’ captains. “Maintaining possession was the big thing, especially when you’re down three people at the end – so just being able to lock into our stick work and keeping the ball is what we were really focusing on.”

Greenwich Academy, which dropped a 13-4 decision to Sacred Heart in 2024, is back in action again on April 28 against FAA opponent St. Luke’s School. The Gators are currently undefeated and in first place in the FAA.

Sacred Heart visits Rye Country Day School on April 28, as they try to continue the momentum from this exciting, one-goal victory. The Tigers were sparked by Lily Sullivan at the faceoff circle.

“We’re going to use this to prepare for our next game, our next hard match is coming up, so I think we definitely learned from this,” Fallon said.

Photos by Antonio Monteiro/06878 Photography: Varsity A lacrosse action between SHG and GA.

Photos by Antonio Monteiro/06878 Photography: Sacred Heart Greenwich and Greenwich Academy in action.

For a lot more photos on the Greenwich Academy-Sacred Heart Greenwich lacrosse game, click on the following link https://www.06878photography.com/lacrosse—sacred-heart-greenwich-varsity-girls-vs-greenwich-academy-varsity-girls-at-sacred-heart-o