By Paul Silverfarb
Sentinel Editor
This could be the type of game that turns a season around.
In what has become a Columbus Day tradition, the Greenwich High School field hockey team took the turf against Pomperaug High School. This time around it was the Cardinals that came out firing on all cylinders and taking a key 4-2 victory at Cardinal Stadium.
“I like our resiliency,” Greenwich High School head coach Allyn Orrico said. “I would really like if we can take those steps forward and stay moving forward without having letdowns. Our goal is to build consistency moving forward.
Leading the charge Monday was senior Paige Mautner, who finished with three of the team’s four goals.
“We had such an offensive-based game today,” Mautner said. “The backs supported the mids, the mids supported the forwards, the forwards supported the midfielders and the midfielders supported the defense. It was fluid and the main thing was that we will filling each other’s lanes. If the ball got through one line, it was really important that the next line was there to pick up the ball and send it in. We did just a good job doing that today.”
The other goal was scored by Mautner’s teammate, sophomore Samantha Chabot. Junior Maggie O’Gorman paced Big Red with two assists, while senior Kate Finneran pitched in with one assist.
“I thought we had really good energy coming in,” sophomore Zoe Metalios said. “We all rocked together as a team. All the units worked hard. We had a lot of good energy in the warm-ups and scoring so early was amazing. It put us off to a really good start.”
The first goal by Mautner did a wonderful job setting the table for Big Red right from the start of the game, as she found the back of the cage 37 seconds into the contest.
Seeing the lane after gaining possession of the ball, Mautner carried the ball through the Pomperaug defense. Just as Mautner got into the circle, she blasted a shot that caught the Panthers off-guard and landed in the corner of the net for the 1-0 lead.
“Having the first goal in field hockey, in such a low scoring game, it really important because it sets the tone,” Mautner said. “Normally the other team who got scored upon, their energy drops a little bit. It was really important to set the tone of the game.”
Orrico agreed and said that getting that quick goal couldn’t have come at a better time for Greenwich.
“It was very key and that’s what we were taking about pregame,” Orrico said. “We were talking about the need to be fast with the ball and that’s what we did. We need to do that to be successful.”
Mautner iced the game in the second half. With 25:36 to play, Greenwich was awarded a penalty stroke. Mautner took the shot and blasted it past the Pomperaug goalie for the 4-1 advantage.
“She always steps up and has been a phenomenal four-year starter for us,” Orrico said. “I nominated her for All-American and I’m hoping that she gets the recognition that she deserves. She’s a great player, very smart with the ball, a fierce competitor and you can always count on her.”
Greenwich finished the contest with 11 shots on goal while Pomperaug took home five shots at net.
With the victory, Greenwich upped its record to 6-5 on the season. The win couldn’t have come at a better time for Greenwich, as they traveled up to Fairfield Warde High School and were defeated 4-1 Saturday morning. That loss snapped Big Red’s three-game winning streak.
“I think this win was very important for us,” Metalios said. “Mentally for our team it was big and this win can help us get into a playoff position. This win sets the tone for the rest of the season for us to come out and win more games.”
Although Greenwich will be looking to make some noise the rest of the way, it won’t be easy. Big Red has four remaining games on its schedule. Friday at 6, Greenwich will play its home finale against St. Joseph High School under the lights at Cardinal Stadium.
From there, it’s all on the road for GHS, with games against New Canaan, Trumbull and a regular season finale against Westhill on Oct. 26.
Orrico believes that in order for the team to be successful the rest of the way, they need to gel more as a unit.
“We knew it was going to be important at the beginning of the season to let the younger girls gel with the older girls,” the head coach said. “That’s something we are really working hard on. We are trying to build that chemistry and confidence for the younger girls because they are going to be so essential to the success of our team.
“We also need to build that depth level, where that front line needs its rest we can have people step up without any drop off,” Orrico said. “If we can build that strength with that second line, we will have a successful run in the playoffs. That will be key for us.”
