The Greenwich High girls lacrosse team’s season came to an end Thursday night as Fairfield Warde held on to a late one-goal lead to advance to the Class L title game this weekend with the 11-10 victory.
The two FCIAC opponents never met in the regular season, but the semifinal matchup was back-and-forth for a majority of the game, and included a comeback attempt that fell just short for the Lady Cardinals.
With just under a minute remaining in regulation, Maggie O’Gorman made it a one-score game with a rebound off the post and a put-back shot for Greenwich. The Lady Cardinals gained possession off the draw and took a timeout with 22.2 seconds left in the game.
“I told my girls on defense to keep their sticks up and force a turnover,” said Warde head coach Tom Davis. “They could have easily put the ball in the back of the net again, so I knew if we got the ball, it was in the bag. It was a one-goal game the entire game, we tried to keep that distance and our defense came up big.”
The Mustangs did indeed force a turnover and attempted to run out the clock, as GHS’ Paige Mautner made a last-second effort with a steal and pass to a cutting teammate just as the clock hit zero.
The sixth-seeded Fairfield Warde team celebrated their narrow victory just feet in front of Greenwich’s goal, and earned the right to play the winner of the following Wilton-Darien semifinal in the state Class L title game.
“I don’t think there is anybody in Fairfield County or in the state that thought Fairfield Warde would be going to the state championships on Saturday,” said Davis. “Greenwich is a great team. They beat a very good team in Ridgefield and we also beat a very good team in Conard.”
For the seventh-seeded Lady Cardinals, an 11-5 regular season was highlighted by a six-game winning streak midway through the year and an overtime thriller to beat second-seeded Ridgefield on their home field in the state tournament.
Paige Mautner scored a team-high four goals, as teammates Erika Bloes and Maggie O’Gorman each added a pair of goals for Greenwich. Sophomore Genevieve DeWinters and Senior Kathryn Harford both scored once in the semifinal loss.
“This team has fought all year long,” Young said following the game. “I’m super proud of this group. Our senior class is irreplaceable. The way they’ve changed the program, they’ve kind of left their mark on the program on and off the field. I would’ve like to get them this one here tonight, but it didn’t bounce our way.”
The Mustangs took a 5-4 lead into halftime after a back-and-forth first half which included four ties.
Warde was the first on the board in the second half, increasing their lead to as much as three goals before Greenwich was able to regroup for a score of their own.
Courtney Scheetz scored two of her team-high four goals out of the half, but it was followed by a pair of Greenwich goals from Mautner and Bloes to bring the game back to within one.
A defensive stop by Romy Villemure set up O’Gorman’s first goal of the game with 9:32 left to play.
Olivia Seymour would respond for Fairfield Warde with one of her two goals on the day.
Kathryn Harford then found the back of the net for Greenwich with 5:58 remaining, but two minutes later it would be Scheetz again for Warde.
On Greenwich’s final possession of the game, following O’Gorman’s goal with under four minutes left to bring her team within one, the Lady Cardinals were unable to connect on a potential game-tying goal with less than 10 seconds remaining.
“We had a play in mind that we were planning,” said GHS’ Paige Mautner. “We didn’t execute it as we thought. We had to find the difference between panic and urgency. Those are two different things and you couldn’t really tell what the difference was. By the end of it, we were kind of flustered.”
The Mustangs were led by Scheetz’s four-goal game and Libby McKenna’s three scores and two assists. Clare Secrist and Amanda Orvis pitched in goals of their own to go with Seymour’s pair of second-half goals.
A total of eight seniors for Greenwich played their final game for Big Red, but the hard work of this senior class will be one the program remembers for years to come, Mautner added.
“The seniors left a huge legacy and they really helped build the program,” said Mautner. “Without them, we wouldn’t have gotten this far. Every year we have gotten better, so next year we want to show them that we can make it to the finals. We want their hard work to pay off.”
Seniors Tate Hatter, Claire Eschricht, Clare Loughran, Kathryn Harford, Sloane Caan, Emily Hopper, Katherine DeWinter and Caroline Schultz make up members of the class of 2016 for the Lady Cardinals.
“It was hugely important for the young players to learn from our experienced ones in terms of the culture and the will to win,” said Young. “The future is bright for Greenwich lacrosse, and this year’s senior class will be a huge part of it.”
