Greenwich Country Day School Boys Soccer Team Wins First FAA Title

Information via Greenwich Country Day School

GREENWICH, CT — In just their second season as a varsity team, the Greenwich Country Day School boys soccer squad has won the FAA championship.

The Tigers lost three games to begin this season, but they won 13 of their remaining 15 contests en route to an 11-5 regular season record and ultimately a championship. The team won all three of its FAA postseason games.

"We had high expectations at the start of the season, but lost a couple of early games that we expected to win," said head coach Alan Marsh recently in a news release from the school. "I’m even more proud of our success, given the fact that the boys had to turn things around and find some form after that start. The players showed great character and worked very hard in practice to find the level we knew they were capable of."

The quarterfinal game was played at home versus Masters (NY) and was a nail-biter. The game was tied 1-1 after 90 minutes, resulting in 20 minutes of extra time.

The Tigers scored early and had to defend efficiently to hold off a strong opponent. Masters eventually pushed their team forward to attack and try to equalize the score, but the Tigers regained possession of the ball and put the game out of reach by netting a third goal through a breakaway counterattack, ending in the final score of 3-1.

The semifinal game played at the No. 1 seed, St. Luke’s, was a hard-fought win.

St. Luke's knew about the offensive power that GCDS possessed and pulled their midfield back in order to crowd the defensive zone, allowing the Tigers to win more midfield balls, but making it much harder to break through and have scoring opportunities.

Similar to the quarterfinal matchup, the Tigers and St. Luke’s were 1-1 for most of the game, but GCDS eventually broke through for two goals to finish 3-1 in regular time.

The FAA championship game pitted GCDS against Greens Farms Academy, and the Tigers came away with a 1-0 victory thanks to a goal from a freshman midfielder and timely saves by the Tigers' goalkeeper.