Cardinals varsity girls soccer team cruises past Brien McMahon in FCIAC Tournament quarterfinal-round action

By David Fierro on October 30, 2026 • ( Leave a comment )

**Photo by David Fierro:** Members of Greenwich High School’s varsity soccer team had plenty to be happy about after competing in the quarterfinal-round of the FCIAC Soccer Tournament. GHS defeated Brien McMahon, 4-0.

After producing another sensational regular season in which they registered a sparkling record of 13-1-1, the members of Greenwich High School’s varsity girls soccer team began the portion of the season they had been eagerly anticipating all season: the postseason.

The defending CIAC Class LL state champion and 2025 FCIAC Tournament finalist Cardinals successfully took their first step toward achieving their main goals when they competed against Brien McMahon in the FCIAC Tournament quarterfinals on Oct. 27th.

Riding the strength of a three first half goals, No. 2-seeded Greenwich coasted to a convincing 4-0 victory over seventh-seeded Brien McMahon in the FCIAC quarterfinals at Cardinal Stadium. Sophomore Siena Ettinger scored two goals and Maddie O’Gara posted one goal for Greenwich, which entered halftime with a 3-0 lead.

“I was really proud of our performance,” Greenwich senior captain/defender Ashley Morris said following the team’s win over Brien McMahon. “We’ve been working on our first two goals for a while, so I was really happy to get this in early.”

Photo by David Fierro: From left to right: Senior captains Ashley Morris, Shay Sippel and Kenna Harlow gather after the Greenwich High School varsity girls soccer team topped Brien McMahon, 4-0, in the FCIAC quarterfinals.

“We had so many great plays and so many great balls up front, which we worked on for so long, so I was really proud of us,” Morris continued.

The win propelled Greenwich (14-1-1) into the semifinal-round of the FCIAC Tournament, where it will play third-seeded Ridgefield tonight (Oct. 30) at Fairfield Warde High School. The semifinal showdown will take place at Warde at 7 p.m.

In the other FCIAC semifinal at Warde, No. 5 Staples plays No. 1-seeded St. Joseph, the defending FCIAC champion.

“It’s really great, it’s nice going into the semis and the rest of the season with another shutout under us,” said Greenwich senior captain Shay Sippel, who like Morris, helped ignite the Cardinals’ impressive defensive effort. “Defensively, we’re really coming together and one of the big things today (quarterfinals vs. McMahon) was making sure we were organized back there, which I think we did a good job of doing.”

Photo by David Fierro: Greenwich High School junior Grace Bennett (No. 17) battles for the ball vs. Brien McMahon.

The Cardinals struck early in their FCIAC Tournament quarterfinal against the Senators. In the fifth minute, Ettinger, one of Greenwich’s leading goal scorers and offensive threats throughout the season, scored off an assist from junior Cameron Dionis, putting the Cardinals in front, 1-0.

Ettinger created another goal 15:11 into the opening half. Dionis once again, assisted on Ettinger’s goal, making it 2-0 in favor of the host Cardinals.

Morris discussed what the Cardinals did to counter the Senators’ defensive plan.

Lina Si-Ahmed of Greenwich High School (No. 20) in action against Brien McMahon. GHS won, 4-0.

“We were preparing Brien McMahon to sit off more, so we were preparing to get the ball up and always moving forward,” Morris noted. “So, playing out wide is one of the biggest things that we can do. We have really great players out wide. When we had Cam and Siena passing it in, it was really great to see that we finished.”

At the 36:44 mark of the opening half, Greenwich gained a four-goal advantage. Junior Maddie Ogara tallied off a pass from Tessa Addeo, also a junior, increasing Greenwich’s lead to 3-0.

Dionis’ goal off an assist from senior Monchi Thompson made it 4-0 in favor of the Cardinals in the 53rd minute. Greenwich exhibited precise passing throughout this playoff matchup and was disciplined and stellar in the midfield and on defense as always.

Lina Si-Ahmed of Greenwich (No. 20) moves the ball along the sideline during a 4-0 win over Brien McMahon.

Said GHS senior tri-captain midfielder: “I think as the season has gone on, we’ve been more composed. We’ve been just finding each other, finding the open player when it’s not going on and not forcing it. We’ve learned how to play well with each other, so it’s going well.”

Against Ridgefield, their FCIAC semifinal-round opponent, Greenwich played the Tigers to a 3-3 tie on Sept. 18. For the season, Greenwich has posted nine shutouts, while allowing only 11 goals in 16 games. Sophomore Taylor Tierney has excelled in goal all season for the Cards, coached by Simon Rumbold.

Hannah Fuzesi of the Cardinals on the move during the FCIAC quarterfinals against Brien McMahon at Cardinal Stadium.

“This team is so amazing. Each year we’ve been a part of it has been so special,” Sippel said of the Cardinals’ success. “We have all different ages on the field and that’s something that’s so special that you can’t recreate anywhere else. It’s been amazing.”

“This is the funnest part of the season,” Harlow noted. “This is what we’ve been working for all season. We really want to go and win FCIACs and then do more.”