Cardinals girls soccer team stays unbeaten with victories over Norwalk, Darien

By David Fierro on September 26, 2026 • ( Leave a comment )

**06878 Photography by Antonio Monteiro:** Chloe Fuzesi of Greenwich (No. 27) scored two goals in the Cardinals’ 6-1 win over Norwalk High School in an FCIAC matchup held on Sept. 24, 2026, at Cardinal Stadium.

Depth is one of several strengths Greenwich High School’s varsity girls soccer team has and it was certainly on full display against Norwalk High School in an FCIAC game held on Sept. 24.

The Cardinals entered the conference matchup with a record of 3-0-1 and only one athlete who started the previous four games was in the starting lineup, as head coach Simon Rumbold opted to give other players an opportunity to rise to the occasion against an up-and-coming Norwalk team.

Receiving two goals apiece from junior Chloe Fuzesi and Kayla Glass, a junior, Greenwich upended Norwalk, 6-1, at Cardinal Stadium to continue its unbeaten season. Greenwich followed its home victory against the Bears by defeating Darien on the road, 2-1, today (Sept. 26th), upping is record to 5-0-1. Indeed, so far, so good for the defending CIAC Class LL State Tournament champion Cardinals.

“We started out with a few good wins, comfortable towards the end of the game, which was nice, then we played Ridgefield (Sept. 18th at home) and we started off brilliantly, we were up, 3-0 at the half,” Rumbold said.

**06878 Photography by Antonio Monteiro:** Kat Giannakopoulous of Greenwich (No. 22) duels for the ball vs. Norwalk.

“That’s the team we played in the state semifinals last year, so a really strong team,” Rumbold continued. “To go in three-nil at halftime was great. We let it slip and it ended up 3-3. It did expose them things we need to work on and get better and develop on. There were some great positives that we took from that and gave us some ideas of what we need to work on and how we can get better.”

Against Norwalk, Greenwich took a 3-0 lead into halftime, while possessing the ball the majority of the first half. The Cards continued their stellar play in the second half, excelling on both ends of the field.

“I think we played really well,” said GHS senior Emerson Shockley, who sparked the squad with her overall effective play. “Our midfielders were really good at keeping the ball and when we needed to go forward, we went forward. But when there was a lot of pressure, we always stepped back and had support back there.”

Shockley explained that the Cardinals didn’t let down, despite being ahead by several goals.

**06878 Photography by Antonio Monteiro:** Greenwich High’s varsity girls soccer team earned a 6-1 win vs. Norwalk.

“We were trying to play like it was zero-to-zero and keep the intensity up,” Shockley said. “Also, we’re just trying do our best and get used to playing with each other, because it’s still the beginning of the season.”

Senior forward Chloe Gandler gave Greenwich a 1-0 lead when she scored off an assist from junior forward Grace Bennett 17:20 into the first half. Bennett booted her corner kick into the box and showing perfect timing, Gandler rose up for a header and scored, directing the ball past Norwalk’s goalie for the game’s first goal.

Chloe Fuzesi, a junior forward, tallied in the 20th minute, making it 2-0 in favor of the Cards, then Tessa Addeo, a junior, lofted a shot over the Norwalk goalie’s head, putting the hosts ahead by three goals 21:30 into first half. Bennett assisted on the goal – she registered three assists for the game.

**06878 Photography by Antonio Monteiro:** Greenwich hosted Norwalk High School and was victorious, 6-1.

“This game was really good, it showed how many versatile players we have to sub into different positions,” Bennett said.

Said Rumbold, whose GHS squad defeated Amity Regional for the CIAC Class LL state championship one season ago: “We used a different lineup. They come in with a really understanding of what they need to do and on days like this it shows. They did great, they played exactly the way we asked of them and I was really proud of them.”

Fuzesi found the back of the net with a shot from approximately 20 yards out, giving GHS a 4-0 advantage on Norwalk in the 51st minute. Maddie O’Gara, a junior, assisted on the tally. Bennett set Glass up for a goal in the 75th minute, then Glass tallied again in the 77th minute, capping the Cardinals’ scoring. Norwalk’s goal came with 11:17 remaining in the second half.

06878 Photography by Antonio Monteiro: Greenwich junior Hannah Fuzesi, left, on the move with the ball vs. Norwalk.

Said GHS junior Lina Si-Ahmed: “We tried to keep our intensity high from the beginning and stay compact and connect really well – one touch. Overall, we came out strong and kept strong and throughout the whole team.”

“A lot of us gave our best and we just tried to step to every ball, get every header and just contain the ball when we had it,” Si-Ahmed continued.

Sophomore Taylor Tierney earned the win in goal for Greenwich, which hosts Wilton on Tuesday (Sept. 29th) at 4:30 p.m., then visits Westhill on Thursday (Oct. 1) for a 4 p.m. matchup.

**Photo by Antonio Monteiro/06878 Photography**: Greenwich scores a goal against Norwalk at Cardinal Stadium.

“We made a lot of good opportunities for ourselves with runs from the outside and 1-2s,” Shockley said.

As for the Cards’ overall play thus far this season?

“It makes me happy and hopefully, we can be on our way to another title this year,” Shockley noted.

**Photo by Antonio Monteiro/06878 Photography**: Greenwich was victorious versus visiting Norwalk, 6-1.

“We’re just trying to build off of that more,” Bennett said of keeping the momentum going dating back to last season’s great success. “Maybe play through the middle more, play through the wings more, just incorporate different things into our playing style.”