After surviving a brief scare from Cheshire High on Monday in the first round of the LL state playoffs, Greenwich High’s second round game on Wednesday gave head coach Danny Simpson reassurance that his team is back on the right track.
“On Monday, I don’t think we played a good game of football,” Simpson said. “I thought we were very rushed in our play and I think we can do a lot better on being calm on the ball and making some combinations.”
“Today, however, I thought we did that very well.”
A 3-1 hard fought victory for the lady Cardinals over Conrad High now puts them in the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference quarterfinals.
Greenwich got off to a fast start at Cardinal Stadium led by Kim Kockenmeister on both sides of the ball.
“Our goal was to just start off strong,” Kockenmeister said. “We tried to shut down the game early.”
In the 8th minute of play, the sophomore crossed a shot into the right side of the net from just outside the box to open up an early 1-0 lead for the Cardinals.
Following a first round upset over ninth-seeded South Windsor, Conrad would begin to fall behind after giving up a second goal of the half to with 13 minutes to go.
A battle for the possession inside the box ended up in Greenwich’s favor after Conrad’s goalie wasn’t able to safely secure the ball, ending up out of position. The scuffle allowed Emily Berzolla to take advantage of a virtually open goal and give the Cardinals a 2-0 lead.
The Chieftains would take advantage of switching defenders in the final minutes of the half, as Julie McKenna found Kirsten Youngstrom to put Conard on the board.
“It was quite rare for us to switch off defensively,” Simpson said. “We allowed a goal and it resulted in our goalkeeper getting injured.”
Emma Barefoot stayed in the game after taking a hit from a Conard player’s striking foot to the thigh. She was able to play the full 80 minutes, but was seen with a slight limp during the second half.
Greenwich hung on to the one goal lead until there were just five minutes left in the game. Anna Giannuzzi clinched the victory for the Cardinals with an unassisted goal to make it 3-1.
With the win, Greenwich moves on to the LL quarterfinals against the top-seeded Glastonbury High on Friday.
A third game in five days will also require the team’s longest trip of the year — an 80-mile bus ride to the Hartford area.
“Coming from the FCIAC, we experience some of the best teams,” Kockenmeister said following the win. “We know the other divisions are tough, but when we bring our A game, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t win.”
Simpson told his team to get physically and mentally ready for Friday’s game against an undefeated Glastonbury team.
“Physically, it’s hard,” Simpson said. “As you get further into tournaments, the mentality is so different. We have to be sure we’re ready to play for the challenge. Errors need to be minimized and chances need to be capitalized.”
