Sacred Heart Greenwich struck first, Greenwich Academy responded, then the Tigers answered right back in the annual varsity soccer regular season showdown between the two longtime, neighborhood rivals Oct. 1st at Sacred Heart, a matchup that indeed, featured plenty of action.

In a rematch of last season’s FAA Soccer Tournament semifinals, this regular season game had the look and feel of a postseason match between teams that may very well play each other again before the season concludes.

Sophomore Gabi Wright scored two goals, while senior Tessa Rigert and sophomore Maggie Davies added one goal apiece for host Sacred Heart Greenwich in its well-earned 4-3 victory over FAA rival Greenwich Academy. With the win, the Tigers raised their record to 5-0-1 heading into today’s road game against Thayer Academy.

“I thought it was a great game, back and forth,” SHG coach Stuart Smith said. “I was really happy with how we started the game, we were composed, we stuck to our game plan and play the game that we like to play the game.”

Greenwich Academy received a hat trick from senior forward Clemi Milligan, who cut Sacred Heart’s lead to 4-3 with a goal late in the second half. The Tigers edged the Gators, 2-1, in the FAA Tournament semifinals one season ago and GA won the regular season game by a goal, so close matchups between these Greenwich-based teams is the norm.

“It was awesome,” Greenwich Academy coach Kate Sands said. “I think we get so amped up for this game and it’s a game we all have marked on our calendars every year and I think they do too, so I think we all feel the pressure and the weight of the moment.”

Indeed, when the Tigers and Gators meet it’s always a much anticipated matchup.

“I think that’s a good thing but it also means that sometimes we come out a little shaky, a little nervous, a little jittery, which we did and we let two goals in,” Sands said. “It wasn’t a great way to start and I think the response was just unbelievable.”

Sacred Heart seized a 2-0 lead, Greenwich Academy tied the score at 2-2, the Tigers tallied twice to go ahead, 4-2 and the Gators closed to within 4-3, before the hosts held on for the win.

“It was disappointing once they got back into the game at 2-2, but I knew we would finish the game strong. We’re always strong in the second half, our fitness prevails and all the hard work the girls put in to get into great shape is really paying off now.”

Cutting into the box, then finishing with a strong shot, Rigert gave Sacred Heart a 1-0 lead on GA in the 10th minute.

“We played a great game, I think our dynamic was really good,” Rigert said. “I think it was such a fluent game, it was amazing.”

In the 12th minute, sophomore Carrie Bakker sent the ball into the box , which found the foot of Wright, who directed it past GA junior goalie Lavely Corbin, giving the Tigers a 2-0 advantage.

“We really just needed to start off with strong momentum, because when you start off with more goals, they just keep coming,” said Wright, who helped lead Sacred Heart’s offense.

Milligan, Greenwich Academy’s leading goal scorer, cut Sacred Heart’s lead to 2-1 when she received a pass, dribbled the ball up the field, found herself in a 1-on-1 situation with Tigers senior goalie Claire McMonagle and scored with 23:53 remaining in the opening half.

“Clemi Milligan had all three goals – as the senior captain, taking care of things like that was awesome,” Sands said of Milligan’s standout performance.

Wright, junior Bianca Bakker, junior Kate Foley, senior Bella Boone and freshman Riley Driscoll were among some of the athletes that enabled SHG to effectively move the ball up and around the field in the opening half against GA.

“We stayed calm throughout the game, we always had each other’s backs, so that when they scored a goal, we made sure we came back,” Boone said. “We played great soccer up from the back. So many of our goals come from the back.”

Junior Juliet DeStefano and Katherine Higgs, also a junior helped pace GA defensively, while Milligan, Maya Bostwick, junior Tian Ettelson, senior Alex Piperno and freshman Grace Mitzner got the visitors into a flow offensively.

Following a Tigers foul, the Gators were awarded a free kick, which was taken by Milligan in the 46th minute. Milligan angled her free kick over the Tigers’ wall past the goalie and inside the right post, evening the score at 2-2.

“It’s a tough place to come and play,” coach Sands said. “Different field, different surface, it’s always an adjustment and I couldn’t be prouder of our kids and the way that they responded, they never put their heads down. I never think that this team is out of it.”

Sophomore Maggie Davies, who along with junior Katherine Petrillo helped pace the Tigers’ defense, gave the home team the lead for good in the 49th minute.

Davies scored directly off a corner kick, directing her kick high over the head of Corbin and giving the Tigers a 3-2 edge.

With 13:39 left in the second half, Sacred Heart upped its lead. Bianca Bakker sent a cross to Wright who finished in the box, making it 4-2 in favor of the hosts.

“I was running up the field and Bianca had the ball, she was dribbling, I was running off the blind side of my defender and I hit the ball upper left,” Wright said of her go-ahead goal. “It felt really good.”

Greenwich Academy came to within 4-3 in the final three minutes of action, as Milligan completed her hat trick off a breakaway. McMonagle and Corbin both made stellar saves for their respective squads in goal throughout the match.

“We had a couple of freshmen that stepped up and met the moment,” Sands said. Mara Kruezer, Grace Mitzner and Taylor Bruce put so much pressure on their defenders,” Sands said of her freshman trio. “Our midfield worked so hard. We’ll watch some film and I have a feeling we’ll probably see them again.”

With the win, Sacred Heart improved to 4-0 in the FAA. The loss was the first in the FAA for GA.

“We had games where we were a second half team, we play well in the first, but our second halves are definitely the best of the game and we were very confident that we could win this game,” Boone said following the Tigers’ exciting win. “We trained so hard the past two weeks for this. It’s also our home field, so we knew that we could count on each other and to not get in our heads and at the end of the day, we knew we could come out on top.”

As for SHG’s mindset when GA threatened to tie the score in the game’s final minutes.

“Anything could happen, so staying calm and figuring out how you are going to play was key, because at the end of the game, it’s different from the beginning,” Boone noted.

Sacred Heart is in action again on Oct. 7 against host Hopkins School in an FAA game. GA, which hosted Masters School today, visits Taft School Oct. 7th.

“Our team definitely stayed composed and we were super hyped weather we were on the bench or on the field,” Wright said. “Everyone was still communicating with each other and we all just played with each other and it was great.”

“We played great, we were able to make a bunch of shots,” Wright continued. “We worked with each other, we moved around the defenders, so it was great.”

Said Smith: “I’m proud of the composure of the girls and the effort. They were able to keep their calm and play against a team that was very direct with a lot of long balls and a lot of speed up top. I’m pleased with how the girls handled that. They (GA) are hard to play against, but we stuck to our style today and I’m glad we prevailed.”

Following their away game versus Hopkins, the Tigers will travel to Kent on Oct. 9th.

“We’re doing really good,” Wright noted. “This has been a really strong season with a really strong group of girls and it’s really exciting to play with a bunch of girls who know how to play good soccer.”

Here’s more scenes from Sacred Heart’s close win over rival Greenwich Academy. Most of the pictures were taken by Antonio Monteiro of 06878 Photography.

For even more pictures from this game, please visit: https://www.06878photography.com/high-school-sports-06878-photography-by-antonio-monteiro/high-school-soccer-photography-fciac-ciac-faa-and-nepsac/girls-soccer-sacred-heart-greenwich-vs-greenwich-academy-at-sacred-heart-on-october-1st-2026