The goals came early and often for Greenwich High School’s varsity soccer team during its CIAC Class LL Tournament final against Amity Regional High School and by the time the first half concluded, it was quite apparent the Cardinals were well on their way to ending their memorable season in truly historic fashion.

The second-seeded Cardinals played an impeccable game against fourth-seeded Amity Regional in the championship matchup of the Class LL Tournament on Nov. 15th at Trinity Health Stadium in Hartford, exhibiting all the strengths they utilized throughout the season to earn a win the soccer program has waited decades for.

Senior forward Harriet Franks scored two goals, while junior midfielder Kenna Harlow and junior defender Shay Sippel added one goal apiece to help propel No. 2 Greenwich past No. 4 Amity, 4-0, on a cold, blustery day that had the Cardinals feeling warm inside afterward. The decisive victory gave Greenwich its first ever state championship and capped a sensational, storybook 18-2-2 season.

“It’s incredible, I couldn’t be happier,” said Franks, who was named the state championship game’s MVP for her outstanding efforts on the field. “To be a senior on this team, we’ve come so far. I can’t thank my coaches enough, they’ve put in so much effort.”

Indeed, Greenwich has steadily climbed the ladder of success throughout the eight seasons head coach Simon Rumbold has guided the squad. When he first took over the varsity program, the Cardinals were seeking to find their way in the competitive FCIAC, hoping to finish above .500 and earn a berth in the state tournament.

The past few seasons saw the Cardinals qualify for the postseason tournaments and finally this year, the 2025 season they won’t forget, was definitely Greenwich’s year.

“Simon has poured his whole heart in this for eight years and it finally paid off,” Franks said.

Greenwich posted a record of 4-0 in the CIAC Class LL Tournament and did not allow a single goal. After receiving a first round bye, the Cardinals defeated three consecutive FCIAC rivals in the second round, quarterfinals and semifinals, registering victories over Darien, Fairfield Warde and Ridgefield, respectively. For the Class LL tourney, Greenwich outscored its opponents, 9-0.

“It’s incredible, really from the outset, the quality they played with and the character they showed, the togetherness, it culminates in this moment,” Rumbold said. “A lot of hard work went into this over the years – it’s hard to describe.”

Greenwich won the coin toss prior to the game and elected to have the wind at its back in the opening half and it took full advantage of that aspect.

“I think we were able to start strong in the first half, because the wind was behind us, so the ball traveled a lot further,” said Greenwich senior midfielder/captain Anna Lenschow, who turned in another superb effort for the state champions. We were able to capitalize on a lot of early opportunities. I think that propelled us through the game.”

As the wind picked up and mounted, so did the Cardinals’ pressure on Amity, which advanced to the Class LL final by beating New Canaan, 4-0, in the semifinal-round. Amity only yielded one goal through its first three games in the tournament, yet the Cards solved the Spartans’ defense in this championship match.

Greenwich was awarded a free kick due to an Amity Regional foul and proceeded to tally. Sippel booted her free kick approximately 40 yards out and it found its way past Spartans goalie Amanda Szymaszek inside the right post, giving Greenwich a 1-0 lead in the fifth minute.

“It was a free kick from far out,” Sippel said of her go-ahead goal. “We have a lot of people on the team who can take them, recently I’ve been taking them from far out and everyone was just saying, put it on frame. It was amazing, it was a great feeling.”

“Shay’s free kick was just incredible,” Franks said. “I didn’t even know she could shoot that far, it was a great kick.”

Moving the ball near along the right sideline, freshman forward Siena Ettinger sent a cross to Franks, who perfectly angled her shot inside the right post, putting Greenwich on top, 2-0, in the 15th minute.

“I tried to get wide on one player and then another player and another player and just kept going,” Ettinger said of setting up Greenwich’s second goal. “Harriet was in the perfect place and scored a great goal.”

The Cards put the Spartans in a three-goal hole with 10:22 remaining in the first half. Shortly after a corner kick, Harlow received the ball in open space and delivered a shot that settled into the back of the net making it 3-0 in favor of the Cardinals.

“It just came out on the edge of the box and people told me to shoot it, so I shot it and it deflected off a girl and went in,” Harlow said. “Just calming down and playing through the middle helped us a lot. It feels amazing to win the title, we worked so hard all season and it paid off.”

Greenwich entered the game focused and intent on playing its style of game. All season, the Cardinals gave their opponents trouble by effectively and quickly passing the ball throughout the field, playing a possession game. That continued in the Class LL final versus Amity.

“Going in, we knew not to get too high or overexcited,” said Greenwich senior forward/captain Julia Gustafsson, who helped pace the Cards’ offense. “We tried to stay cool on the bus. We had a lot of team talks and I think going in we’ve been working on our chemistry each game. I think that really showed. All of our goals were through passing sequences.”

Amity had the wind in the second half and threatened to score several times. Yet it was another clean sheet for the Cardinals due to their strong defensive effort and impressive goaltending by sophomore Taylor DeVries.

DeVries made a sparkling save off an Amity corner kick in the 49th minute and stopped a shot from close in during the 55th minute. She finished the game with six saves in earning the shutout win.

“That was one of the best games I’ve seen her play,” Rumbold said of DeVries in goal. “The fact she saved it was amazing, the fact she held it was amazing.”

With 21:57 left in the second half, Franks gave GHS a commanding 4-0 advantage, tallying off a shot deep inside the box. Her second goal of the state title game was assisted by junior midfielder Monchi Thompson.

“Today was incredible, we started off strong, scored early and we were connecting passes,” Thompson noted. “It was an awesome 4-0 win.”

Senior captain Ella Whitridge, Sippel and junior Ashley Morris were among some of the athletes that solidified Greenwich’s defense in the title game and throughout the season. Prior to competing in the Class LL state tournament, Greenwich produced a dominant regular season, posting a 12-1-2 record, its lone loss coming against St. Joseph.

In the FCIAC Tournament, the Cards reached the final for the first time in recent memory and were edged by St. Joseph, 1-0, in a game that was decided in penalty kicks. Following that narrow defeat, Greenwich came out especially fired up and ready to compete in the state tourney.

“We are the No. 1 team in the FCIAC for a reason,” Franks noted. “I think we’re the best team in the FCIAC and we showed that in the final and the state.”

While they compiled the wins as the season progressed, the Cards had an inkling something special could be on the horizon.

“This year we knew it was our year,” Franks said. “We had two new freshmen come in and we had experience. We had everything we needed to win a state title and we proved it.”

As for being named the championship game’s MVP?

“It’s a great feeling,” Franks said. “I could not ask for a better ending to my high school career. I’m so glad to end it off like this.”

Greenwich’s closest call in the state tournament occurred when it pulled out a 1-0 win over Ridgefield in the Class LL semifinals on Nov. 12th at Weston High School. Sippel delivered one of her signature free kicks into the box and Ettinger headed it home, giving GHS a 1-0 semifinal-round win over the Tigers.

“Ridgefield is always tough to score against, tough to beat,” Rumbold noted following the semifinals. “You have to have good chances to create scoring opportunities. Siena was able to get a header on a cross. We were able to send a bunch of people in the box and Shay’s delivery was top class. Siena was able to not only read it, but the redirect it as skillfully as she did at the moment. She is a great player and great players come up big in big moments.”

“It’s incredible when you think of how far the program has come the past seven years it is something to be proud of,” Rumbold continued. “It’s something that has never been done in our school’s history.”

Franks, Gustafsson, Lenschow, Maria Levchenko Leda Lindsay, Caitlin McConnell, Kayla Townsend, Madi Utzinger, Whitridge and Maddie Young were the Cardinals 2025 seniors.

“It’s amazing, it’s my last time playing soccer, so winning the state championship is awesome,” Gustafsson said. “I didn’t think we would ever be able to do it. I remember freshman year it was hard to even get into the state tournament and now winning it – it’s insane.”

“We started in the middle of August, the preseason practicing,” Lenschow noted. “Six days a week, practicing. We worked so hard to come to this game and then we were finally able to win it. It felt so good, compared to losing FCIACs, to winning states.”

For even more pictures of Greenwich’s championship triumph over Amity, please visit: https://www.06878photography.com/girls-soccer-2025-ciac-ll-final-greenwich-high-school-vs-amity-high-school-november-16th-2025