As the results have clearly indicated, the 2025 season has been another one of standout success for Greenwich High School’s varsity field hockey team.

Excelling in all areas of the field, the Cardinals earned an outstanding record of 10-3-0-1 against their FCIAC opponents, which gave them the No. 6 seed in the ultra-competitive FCIAC Field Hockey Tournament.

Greenwich continued its impressive play in the FCIAC Tournament, which first saw it hit the road to face third-seeded Wilton, one of the premier teams in the state, in the quarterfinals. In an exciting playoff matchup, the Cardinals prevailed against the Warriors, winning the game by a 3-2 score in a back-and-forth contest that was deciding in a penalty corner shootout. Greenwich won the shootout versus Wilton, 4-3 and moved on to face second-seeded Darien in the FCIAC Tournament semifinals.

The FCIAC semifinal-round match between the Cardinals and Blue Wave was competitive, with Darien defeating GHS at Cardinal Stadium, 3-0. Darien proceeded to top No. 1-seeded Staples in the FCIAC Tournament final, winning in a shootout 1-0, after the teams went to overtime tied at 1-1.

In Greenwich’s FCIAC semifinal versus Darien, the Blue Wave received goals from sophomore Libby Meyer, junior Shannon Bock and Adriana Gromelski, also a junior.

Meyer’s goal off a penalty corner gave Darien a 1-0 lead on Greenwich with 4:46 remaining in the first quarter. Bock’s tallied also on a penalty corner with no time remaining in the opening quarter, putting the Blue Wave in front, 2-0.

The score remained 2-0 until Gramelski registered a goal at the 3:34 mark of the third period, giving the Blue Wave a three-goal advantage.

Greenwich put forth strong efforts on both ends of the field while contending with the formidable Blue Wave.

“First, I’m so proud of the way that we got here,” Greenwich coach Megan Wax said. “Our game against Wilton was such a hard-fought battle. The FCIAC is so talented and everyone who made the tournament is fantastic. We were super excited to be in this game and we came out energized.”

“We know that we’re going up against a very talented opponent in Darien, so we worked hard all week preparing for it,” Wax continued.

Darien had solid possessions throughout, yet Greenwich stayed in the game, playing effective defensively, while working to get shots on goal on offense.

“We had some really great plays and possessions,” Wax said. “I think there were times that the Darien defense was able to get us in a way numbers up situation for them. It kind of locked us into forcing some bad decisions. But overall, it was a great game between two great FCIAC teams. We’ll learn from it regroup and get ready for the state tournament.”

Greenwich goalie Tatum Wunderlich made six saves against Darien. Among some of the athletes pacing Greenwich’s superb all-around play were senior Niene Boezen, senior Emilia Arroyo and Julia Lattuada, also a senior.

Execution on penalty corners proved to be key in the semifinal-round matchup, as the Blue Wave scored twice on corners.

“Corner execution was huge and just a simple direct shot,” Darien coach Maureen Minicus said. “I’m really proud of the effort of the entire team.”

“I knew it was going to be a battle, Greenwich is a fantastic team with tremendous talent and depth,” Minicus continued. “We’ve been working really hard on specific things and I think our team executed everything what we have been working on – our press, our two-touch passing, our corners.”

Said Wax of Darien’s production on penalty corners: “The way that they were setting it up was blocking some vision of our goalie and we weren’t shifting appropriately off of that, so losing sight of the ball for a second, because they got us out of our formation was the bigger problem. But we needed to not give up so many corners.”

One of Greenwich’s losses in the regular season was to Darien, which like GHS, is also always one of the top teams in the FCIAC and state.

“They are a fierce competitor, they always are,” Wax said of Darien. “We talked about no plays off. We talked about this going in, we talked about how it was going t have to be a full 60-minute. Every single second counts and true to form, we played that way.”

Some of the Cards’ best moments against the Blue Wave occurred during the second half.

“At halftime, we talked about how just because we got scored on doesn’t mean all of a sudden we don’t have to play on our heels defensively and try not to let them score ,” Wax noted. “We can get back to us rightfully being in this game and being an offensive force also. We needed to get back to things that work well for us and get it down to our end and get some high-quality shots and attempts.”

Said Minicus: “We came out strong, we got on the board, we lost momentum a bit toward the end of the second quarter, which is a little unsettling, but we were able to hold them off and regroup a little bit. Getting that third goal in the second half was key to just breathing a little bit.”

Up next for the Cardinals is the CIAC Class L Tournament. Greenwich is seeded sixth in the state tournament and hosts 11th-seeded Hall at 4 p.m in the first round of the 15-team tournament.

One of Greenwich’s most significant victories to date was its shootout win against Wilton in the FCIAC Tournament quarterfinals.

“That game was crazy, I think they’re No. 2 in the state,” Wax said. “Wilton is a fabulous team, the top of the FCIAC, the top of the state. We battled with them all game long. They scored with us with about 10 seconds to go in regulation to tie it up 2-2.”

Greenwich received back-to-back cards near the end of regulation, so were two players down in overtime, yet the squad persevered.

“In overtime, we had some really good looks, slight misses by inches,” Wax noted. “Then we went into shootouts, it was awesome. Tatum made came up with two really big saves and we were able to score off of our four of our five. It was a euphoric feeling for the team. I’m super proud of the girls.”

Arroyo, Lattuada, Carlota Lopez and Clara Ojea are the Cardinals’ senior captains who have provided important leadership to the team throughout the season.

“We worked hard all year, we have a huge senior class, great leaders and kids who are willing to leave it all out on the field,” Wax said. “That’s what that game was, that was 80-plus minutes of heart. That’s something that as a coach you want out of your team.”

“We know that ultimately if you want to go far in states you have to play the top FCIAC teams again,” Wax continued. “We’re going to be ready to go in the state tournament and make another push.”