The Greenwich Academy field hockey team opened its season in grand fashion earlier today, scoring five goals in the first half to beat Hackley School 6-0.
“Hackley sustained pressure in the second half, drawing a number of corners and getting some great shots off on our goal,” Greenwich Academy head coach Jamie Brower said. “We were pleased to start off the season against a solid team and come out on with the result we did.”
The Gators were led by Tatiana Viola, who finished the contest with two goals.
With 20:55 to play in the opening half, Greenwich Academy got on the scoreboard when Olivia LeSueur connected on her penalty stroke and beat Hackley goalie Morgan O’Connor. Just over two minutes later, the Gators struck again, as Kate DeFrino took the ball from Alexa Murray and found the back of the cage for the 2-0 lead.
Viola picked up her first goal of the game with 11:24 left in the half, as the duo of Ellie Otton and Manveer Sandhu each netted an assist. Less than two minutes later, Caroline Keller found her name on the scoresheet, as she took the ball from Anna Khoury to give GA a 4-0 lead.
Sandhu rounded out the first half of scoring when she took the ball from Faye Tapsall and scored with 8:36 left in the half.
Viola was the lone goal scorer for both teams in the second half, as she beat O’Connor with 12:15 to play in the game to give GA the 6-0 advantage. Whitney Balanoff was credited with the assist.
In net, Greenwich Academy’s Maggie Reville was stellar, finishing with five saves and the shutout.
With the victory, the Gators improved to 1-0 on the season and will be back in action Monday when they open FAA play at home against St. Luke’s School.
