By David Fierro
After earning an undefeated record and winning the Fairchester Athletic Association regular season title, the Greenwich Country Day School varsity boys soccer team was determined to capture another championship this fall.
Mission accomplished.
For the second time in three years, top-seeded Greenwich Country Day School won the FAA Boys Soccer Tournament championship, defeating third-seeded Greens Farms Academy, 2-1, in the title game on Nov. 8.
“I think the key to our victory was the intensity we played with,” said Greenwich Country Day senior William Steel, one of the Tigers’ captains. “It’s an amazing feeling to win the championship and cap off a historic season.”
Indeed, it was a historic soccer season for GCDS.
“It was great to be the first team in school history to not only win our league in the regular season, but also the first team to go undefeated in the regular season and playoffs,” Steel noted.
Greenwich Country Day, which received a first-round bye, posted a 4-1 victory over fourth-seeded St. Luke’s School in the FAA Tournament semifinals. The Tigers received goals from Dylan Ever, a junior and Devin Kellan, a junior captain in the title game.
Following a scoreless first half against Greens Farms Academy in the championship game, GCDS drew a penalty kick early in the second half. Ever converted the penalty kick, putting the Tigers on top, 1-0.
The Tigers then conceded a penalty kick to the Dragons, who scored on the kick, evening the score at 1-1. Late in the second half, Kellen scored, giving the host Tigers a 2-1 lead – an advantage they would not relinquish. Seniors Mason Zuniga, Ollie Eisenberg, Noah Sokol and Steel were among some of the defensive standouts for GCDS in the championship win.
“We set out to win the regular season, and achieving that with seven wins from seven games was incredible,” Greenwich Country Day coach Alan Marsh said. “To get a home draw in the playoffs was massive for us. The final was typically nervy, and GFA put up a great fight, and gave us some real scares. I couldn’t be more proud of our players–they have a great camaraderie and work really hard for each other. It’s a squad game and we are lucky to have real depth.”
GCDS finished the season with a perfect 9-0 record in the FAA, including a 7-0 regular-season mark and earned 11 victories overall. Tigers senior captain Tal Lipschitz spoke of the impact the coaching staff has had on the soccer program.
“We would have gone nowhere without our coaches: Alan Marsh (head coach), Chris Cleary and Levin Morant,” Lipschitz said. “The culture, the attitude, discipline and respect that they created allowed us to win games and be better players/teammates. Without fail, the coaches had a plan for each practice, different from the last.”
“They constantly made sure everyone was included; they would let us feel seen when doing something well and would respectfully, hold players accountable when doing something wrong,” Lipschitz continued.
Director of Athletics Tim Helstein praised the coaches and players: “Coach Marsh, Coach Cleary, and Coach Morant emphasized possession and teamwork from the first day of preseason, and the team they created was exactly what they had envisioned. Our players controlled the games through patience, communication, and tactical play. Congratulations to the boys varsity soccer team for making it to their third straight FAA Final and bringing home the trophy to Offit Field.”
Said Lipschitz: “A team brotherhood and family was created on this soccer team and I could not have asked for a better group of guys to lead us.”
