Greenwich field hockey team powers past Westhill

Controlling possession from the outset, Greenwich generated a wealth of scoring opportunities during Wednesday’s field hockey matchup against visiting Westhill.

And as the game progressed, the Cardinals cashed in on more and more chances.

Greenwich evened its record at 1-1 by posting a 5-0 Senior Day victory against Westhill in an FCIAC West Region game at Cardinal Stadium.

Five different players rattled the cage for the Cardinals, who rebounded well from a 4-0 seasonopening loss to New Canaan.

“After our game last week, we had a lot of things we were working on improving, mostly setting the tempo and being the aggressor, which we did,” Cardinals coach Megan Wax said. “We improved overwhelmingly from where we were last game. I was really excited about that.”

Putting plenty of pressure on Westhill’s defenders in the circle, Greenwich forced 19 penalty corners, 12 of which came during the second half. Kurston Halliman made 11 saves in goal for the Vikings, who trailed 1-0 after the first quarter.

Greenwich’s first goal came with 1:40 left in the first quarter, with Nima Gupte scoring off a penalty corner. Klara Mueffelmann assisted on the tally.

Mueffelmann’s goal shortly after a penalty corner gave the Cards a 2-0 advantage. Positioned at the right post, she knocked a shot past Halliman, giving Greenwich a 2-0 edge.

Zita Cohen extended Greenwich’s lead putting a high shot over the Westhill goalie’s shoulder with 10:09 to go in th second quarter, making it 3-0.

Agustina Ferrario and Ana Florina Galie each added goals in the winning effort.

“It’s so nice knowing that we are so close together as a team,” said Ferrario one of the senior captains. “By playing as a team we were able to execute what we did in practice.”

Added senior captain Ellie Ybarra: “We definitely got our momentum together and we were back in rhythm. That was key, we have a lot of potential on this team, so we just have to make sure we are all working as a cohesive unit.”

Senior captain Charlotte Gans believed the Cards entered the matchup with extra motivation.

“We came off the first game a little bit rocky, but now we feel we can build off this momentum and do it again.”

Unlike Halliman, who was kept busy in goal throughout for Westhill, Greenwich goalie Jorja Pastore had a relatively stress-free day.

“Defensively, we did a lot better on stopping free hits and recovering,” said Pastore, also a captain.

As for the team’s captains, Wax appreciates what they bring to the squad.

“They have so much passion, fight and teamwork and this drive that just is unlike any other class I’ve seen before,” Wax said. “They make everything think about high school sports, this senior class embodies.”