The taste of defeat in last year’s FAA championship match still lingers around the huddle of the Greenwich Academy girls lacrosse team, as Rye Country Day School took home the hardware in a 12-11 nailbiter last spring.
So when the two teams got together for the first time since the FAA finals, the Gators left no doubt that they are still one of the most dominant teams in the conference, marching to an undefeated 10-0 record with the 18-11 beatdown of the Wildcats.
“It was nice,” chuckled GA head coach Melissa Anderson following the win. “I tell the girls before every game to find something that really motivates them, and today that was an easy one.”
The motivation could be seen early and often for the Gators, as they scored the game’s first six goals over the first 10 minutes of the game.
The Gators were led by Chapin Ruffa with a team-high five goals along with Whitney Balanoff and Anna Khoury who both scored three times in the win for Greenwich Academy.
Balanoff added an impressive five assists as Haley Aube and Mia Nixon both played important roles, adding a pair of goals each, to keep the Gators undefeated this season.
“We really wanted to show what we could do,” Anderson said. “I’m proud of our kids this year. We lost some kids and I know Rye Country Day lost a bunch of kids and that’s what is kind of exciting in the FAA. You never really know year-to-year how the matchups are going to go, but this win went our way and we’re really happy about it.”
Rye Country Day School, who defeated the Gators in both the regular season and the postseason last year, fell to 5-5 on the year as they couldn’t come back from GA’s fast start.
“We totally changed things up throughout the game,” said Rye Country Day head coach Georgette Summers. “To be honest, we put our defense on offense and vice versa. Our girls seemed a little flat but it seemed to turn them around. The game came down to draw control. We were winning the draw, but unable to secure the possessions we needed.”
Leading the Wildcats was Taylor Regan who scored four times and assisted on one goal in the loss. Along with a heads-up steal and an immediate score in the first half, she rallied for three straight second-half goals, including a coast-to-coast score in comeback attempt that fell short in the final minutes.
“Taylor’s phenomenal,” said Summers. “She controls our entire midfield, she’s talented and unselfish.
Leading 12-5 at halftime, Greenwich Academy kept their groove with Maggie Reville in goal with five saves and Karina Schulze keeping the pace for the team’s offense, adding a goal in the victory.
“Our main defensive plan was to neutralize Taylor Regan and our matchup on her was great, but she’s also really versatile,” said Anderson. “When she’s not scoring, she’s looking to pass so she’s very deceptive and she makes everyone else a threat too.”
After a trio of goals, Rye Country Day would cut the lead to 14-10, but the Gators would rebuttal with offensive sets to kill any momentum the Wildcats had. Playing with the clock on their side, the Gators scored off the stick off Caroline Keller and Holly Johnson in the game’s final minutes to put the match out of reach.
“They’ve got some great players who are some real threats,” said Anderson. “They were able to capitalize on their possessions and they were a constant threat. We play some different defenses, but more so now than in years past, we’ve been very attentive to help and double team. As a unit, they are doing great so I was pleased to see us able to handle them.”
