The Greenwich Academy field hockey team faced off against the Convent of the Sacred Heart Tuesday in an FAA semifinals match that wasn’t decided until the final minute of regulation, when GA’s Sofi Viola recorded the game-winning goal to put the Gators in the FAA finals.
“Coach told me to bring the intensity and to make something happen,” Viola said following the win. “There were only two minutes left, so she told us you have to bring your all and leave it all out on the field.”
Tied at 1-1 with two minutes remaining in regulation, GA head coach Jamie Brower put subbed Viola at the inner forward position and it proved to be the difference in the final moments of the game.
With the win, Greenwich Academy advances to the FAA finals against either Rye Country Day or Holy Child on Thursday.
“Sacred Heart put really great pressure on the ball and they were picking off our passes very nicely,” Brower said. “We were waiting for the ball to come through to our midfield and forwards and they were swooping in and picking off our passes. They did a great job defensively of reading the play and going for the ball when it was en route to our players. We weren’t coming back to our passes.”
“Hats off to Sacred Heart, they came out and played a great, great game.”
After a scoreless first half, it was Sacred Heart that came out with momentum and held a majority of possessions to limit Greenwich Academy’s chances to only seven shots on goal.
In goal for Sacred Heart, Isabella Santucci made five saves, while Greenwich Academy’s Maggie Reville saved five shots as well.
With 24 minutes left in the game, Greenwich Academy’s Juliann Whitman received a pass from Karina Schulz and converted the first goal of the match to put the Gators up 1-0.
Trailing by one, Sacred Heart put together a string of penalty corner opportunities before Catherine Keating was able to finally get one passed a packed crease of GA defenders to tie the match at one a piece with 12 minutes remaining on the clock.
“I think our defense was willing to make a huge effort today,” Sacred Heart co-coach Alex Gheorge. “We came out with more opportunities in this game than in our last meeting and I think the girls tried as best they could.”
Both Sacred Heart and Greenwich Academy tallied a total of eight penalty corner chances, but it was GA’s final corner opportunity that secured the Gators’ place in yet another FAA Final.
With 1:02 left in the match, Olivia LaSuer fired a pass just wide of the goal, making contact with Viola’s swinging stick and finding its way into the back of the net.
It was LaSuer, a senior captain, who dished out three assists in the regular season match against Sacred Heart in a 5-0 victory last month, but no pass was bigger than Tuesday’s game-clinching assist to Viola to put the Gators in the FAA title match.
“Whether it be against Rye Country Day or Holy Child, it’s going to be a tough game,” Viola said about the upcoming FAA championship. “But I think as a team, we bring that confidence and we all help each other out here.”
Greenwich Academy will go for its 32nd consecutive FAA title on Thursday at home, but improvements are still needed after a few matches that were too close for comfort for GA’s Brower.
“I think the best part about it going in is that we’re playing on our home field. That’s huge in any situation, let alone a playoff game,” Brower said. “I think both our games against Rye Country Day and our Holy Child game were challenging for us, neither of those games were easy.”
“We are going to have to prepare and improve going forward. We need to improve on our communication and on our poise with the ball. Those are areas we’re definitely going to have to cover tomorrow in practice. It’s not going to be an easy game, no matter who we play.”
