Following an outstanding showing in the FCIAC Girls Soccer Tournament, one in which it reached the championship game, Greenwich High School’s varsity team is making a strong showing in the CIAC Class LL Tournament and is three victories away from capturing the state title.

After receiving an opening round bye, the second-seeded Cardinals (15-2-2) hosted FCIAC rival Darien High School on Nov. 4th and though the matchup certainly wasn’t without some adversity, Greenwich pulled out a well-earned 1-0 victory over the Blue Wave.

The win advanced Greenwich into the Class LL quarterfinals, where it will host No. 23 Fairfield Warde in today’s (Nov. 7th) 2:30 p.m. matchup.

The game-winning goal against Darien was an own goal for Greenwich. Senior midfielder Ashley Morris directed a shot from approximately 10 yards out from the left side and the ball deflected off a pair of Blue Wave defenders before finding its way inside the right post. The goal gave the Cardinals a 1-0 lead with 26:56 remaining in the first half and was, obviously, the only goal they needed in this second round matchup.

As is usually the case when Greenwich and Darien meet on the soccer pitch, Darien proved to be a formidable foe, displaying a strong overall defensive effort.

“That was a very hard game to play, especially because they sat so deep,” Greenwich senior forward Harriet Franks said of Darien. “We had a pretty bad start, but we figured it out and all that matters is that we found a way to win.”

Franks, senior captain Julia Gustafsson and freshman Siena Ettinger paced the Cardinals offensive efforts, while senior captain Anna Lenschow and junior Kenna Harlow helped solidify the squad’s impressive midfield play.

“It was tough for us, because we have a bunch of friends on the other team and they were talking to us during the game, they were telling us our coach told us to man mark everyone in the midfield,” Lenschow said, referring to the fact that a lot of Greenwich and Darien athletes compete on the same travel teams during the offseason. “So, it was tough for us get open to work the ball up. It was tough, but I think we did a good job of working the ball around the defense and waiting for the opportunities to find a through ball where we could drive forward.”

Cardinals sophomore goalie Taylor DeVries was a standout once again, earning the shutout victory. DeVries made several saves in the second half, a pair of which came off headers from a pretty close distance.

Greenwich posted a regular season record of 12-1-2, then won their first two games in the FCIAC Tournament, before losing in heartbreaking fashion to St. Joseph, 1-0, in the championship game. The FCIAC title game went to penalty kicks and the Cadets wound up edging the Cardinals for the title, in a game that saw GHS have the better of the play for the majority of the matchup.

In the state tournament, it’s win and move on or lose and season over, so Greenwich was obviously, excited and relieved to advance and host today’s quarterfinal-round matchup.

“Obviously, states are very intense, you’re always trying to get that win,” Cardinals senior captain/defender Ella Whitridge said. “We definitely need to raise our standard. It’s definitely good to get the win, we just have to focus on the next game. We were still able to rally together, get that goal and get the win.”

“That’s what really good teams do, even when we’re not at our best, we were able to get to the next round and get to the next game,” added Whitridge, a defensive anchor throughout the season. “I’m proud of how we were able to do that.”

Greenwich coach Simon Rumbold shared the same sentiment.

“In the FCIAC final, we played really well, but we didn’t get the result, and today, we didn’t play as well as we wanted, and got the result,” Rumbold noted. “So, it’s great that we got the win. Very good teams find a way to win when they don’t always play their best.”

Greenwich has given the opposition difficulties with its stellar passing and quick connections.

“It was a team effort, we were hustling, pressing until the last minute,” said Gustafsson, who moved from defense to the forward position a few weeks ago. “We’re looking forward to Friday and playing as we usually play – connecting passes. We had a lot of good chances, our defense did a good job of stopping them. Our defense was very impressive and they did really well today.”

Rumbold noted DeVries efforts in goal as being one of the significant aspects of the squad’s second round victory versus the Blue Wave.

“Taylor played a good game, when they put pressure on us late in the game, she collected some saves,” he said. “She was positive, she was aggressive, she came out of the goal when she needed to and she really stepped up.”

If Greenwich defeats Warde in today’s quarterfinals, it will play the winner of fourth-seeded Amity and 12th-seeded Staples in the Class LL semifinals on Nov. 11th at site and time to be determined.

“We know that we are going to have to be a little better than we were today and just play our game,” Franks said of the Cards’ quarterfinal game. “We’ve been doing it all season. We’re going to full out with full intensity and hopefully, get a win.”

“We have a good team, we just need to put away a few more goals,” Gustafsson added. “I think we’re going to do really well.”