Top-seeded Greenwich High varsity girls soccer team shuts out Fairfield Ludlowe in FCIAC Tournament quarterfinals, 3-0

By David Fierro on October 23, 2025 • ( Leave a comment )

**06878 Photography by Antonio Monteiro:** Greenwich High School senior captain Julia Gustafsson (No. 30) scored two goals in the Cardinals’ 3-0 win over Fairfield Ludlowe in the FCIAC Tournament quarterfinals at Cardinal Stadium on Oct. 21, 2025.

After experiencing a regular season to remember, Greenwich High School’s varsity girls soccer team hopes it has a postseason it won’t forget.

Greenwich, which won the FCIAC regular season title with a record of 12-1-2 and secured the No. 1 seed in the FCIAC Soccer Tournament, kept the good times rolling when it began competition in the conference tournament against eighth-seeded Fairfield Ludlowe on Oct. 21st.

Flourishing on both ends of the field against an aggressive, upset-minded Falcons team, the Cardinals tallied twice in the opening half and never looked back, cruising to another impressive victory.

Senior captain/forward Julia Gustafsson scored two goals and senior forward Harriet Franks added a goal, propelling top-seeded Greenwich past Ludlowe, 3-0, in the FCIAC Tournament quarterfinals at Cardinal Stadium. Greenwich (13-1-2), plays fourth-seeded Staples tomorrow (Oct. 24th) in the FCIAC semifinals at Fairfield Ludlowe High School. The game is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.

**06878 Photography by Antonio Monteiro:** Greenwich High School senior Harriet Franks (No. 10) scored a goal for the Cardinals in their 3-0 victory over Fairfield Ludlowe in the FCIAC Girls Soccer Tournament quarterfinals.

Coached by Simon Rumbold, the Cardinals entered their conference tournament quarterfinal-round matchup knowing they had to be in top form from the start.

“We finished as the top seed in the league, but we knew for playoffs that didn’t really mean anything, because playoffs is basically a whole new season,” said Cardinals senior midfielder/captain Anna Lenschow, who produced another sparkling performance in the quarterfinal-round victory. “Teams you saw before don’t play the same way, because they saw you already. They come in more aggressive. It was a whole new season coming in, we knew we needed to focus on this game and not the games before.”

Ludlowe (7-9-1), which was defeated by GHS during the regular season, 2-0, in the season-opener for both squads, opted to open the playoff matchup in aggressive fashion.

“We were wondering if they would sit back or if they would come at us,” Rumbold noted. “They came at us, which made for a challenging first 10 to 12 minutes, then we got into what we were going to do.”

**06878 Photography by Antonio Monteiro:** Greenwich senior Anna Lenschow in action vs. Ludlowe in the FCIAC quarterfinals at Greenwich High School on Oct. 21, 2025. The Cardinals won the game, 3-0.

“Credit to the girls, they played the way we practice and did what we they wanted to do,” Rumbold added.

Gustafsson, who recently made the move from her spot on defense up to the forward position, gave Greenwich an early 1-0 lead on Ludlowe. Franks assisted on the goal, which was the result of nifty passing.

“The first goal came from Julia, it was a really good combination,” Rumbold said. “She was at the edge of the box and finished. She’s been outstanding since we put her up front. It was a really good finish.”

Franks put the Cards on top, 2-0, also tallying in the first half.

**Photo by Antonio Monteiro/06878 Photography**: Members of the Greenwich High School varsity girls soccer team celebrate their 3-0 win over visiting Fairfield Ludlowe in the FCIAC Tournament quarterfinals at Cardinal Stadium.

Gustafsson assisted on Franks’ goal, which also saw freshman Siena Ettinger contribute to the tally with solid ball movement.

Franks described her goal: “Siena played a really good ball to the middle and I didn’t know if I should turn, so I played it back to Julia and she gave it back to me, ” Franks said. “I took on two defenders and hoped that it went in when I shot it.”

Gustafsson, Franks, Ettinger and junior Montserrat Thompson helped paced the victors’ play up front, exhibiting stellar passing and teamwork, while Lenschow and junior Kenna Harlow, were among some of the athletes sparking the Cardinals’ midfield effort.

“Our passing sequences the entire time have been good and that was just one of many opportunities we had,” Gustafsson said, referencing her first goal of the quarterfinal-round game. “We had a lot of give-and-goes, our offense has been really working together at practice trying to get more chemistry together and that was a great example of it.”

**Photo by Antonio Monteiro:** Members of the Cardinals varsity soccer team after their FCIAC Tournament win vs. Ludlowe.

Passing has been one of Greenwich’s assets throughout the season.

“Throughout the season we’ve worked on connecting quick with the ball, so playing quick one and two passes to get out of tight areas,” Lenschow noted. “So, that worked well today, because they were high pressing us a lot of the time. When we play quick one and two passes, we were able to get out of that press and break through their lines pretty easily.”

Gustafsson made it 3-0 in favor of the host Cardinals when she booted a shot past Ludlowe sophomore goalie Gwenyth King in the 46th minute from approximately 28 yards away.

**06878 Photography by Antonio Monteiro**: Greenwich senior defender Ella Whitridge (No. 6) in action vs. Fairfield Ludlowe.

The Cards tested King in goal throughout, generating numerous scoring chances and shots on goal.

“We’re really good at passing, so teams identify that and come at us harder like they did today, but we worked around it and identified it as the game went on and figured out a way to play around it, which was good,” GHS senior defender/captain Ella Whitridge said.

Whitridge, junior Shay Sippel and junior Ashley Morris are among a group of athletes that solidify Greenwich’s defensive efforts each game in front of sophomore goalie Taylor DeVries. DeVries made several saves for Greenwich, which has posted seven shutouts on the season, including two straight.

**06878 Photography by Antonio Monteiro**: Cardinals junior Ashley Morris brings the ball down the field vs. Ludlowe.

“We had a shutout last time, we are starting a new formation, we’re starting Ashley (Morris) in the back now,” Whitridge noted. “It was a really physical game, so we were all staying connected, communicating and working really well together. It was definitely a really physical game, but we powered through it and got the shutout.”

Third-seeded St. Joseph plays seventh-seeded Darien in the other FCIAC Tournament semifinal-round matchup tomorrow (Oct. 24) at 7 p.m.

Indeed, Greenwich, also ranked No. 2 in the CIAC Class LL state rankings, is enjoying its highly successful season, which it hopes continues for the next several weeks.

**06878 Photography by Antonio Monteiro:** Members of Greenwich’s varsity girls soccer team react after defeating Ludlowe.

“It’s so much fun, I couldn’t ask for a better way to end my high school career,” Franks said. “Everyone never stops fighting until the final whistle, so it’s really great.”

Franks has helped the Cardinals generate a good number of chances up front and is one of the squad’s more experienced athletes.

**06878 Photography by Antonio Monteiro:** Members of the Greenwich High School varsity girls soccer team react after the team scored a goal against Fairfield Ludlowe in the FCIAC Tournament quarterfinal-round. GHS won, 3-0.

“Harriet the last three weeks has been fantastic,” Rumbold noted. “She’s been creative, creating chances, scoring goals – she’s been great. She’s been around a long time and is using her experience – she understands what we’re trying to do.”