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Greenwich outlasts Convent of the Sacred Heart
David Hahn
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More than any other game on the schedule, Greenwich High School's Carolyn Paletta was looking forward to her team's regular-season finale against cross-town opponent Convent of the Sacred Heart.
A former CSH player, Paletta couldn't wait to test her skills against a few dozen old friends.
Shooting the ball against Tigers goalie and one-time teammate Maddie Pillari did take some getting used to though.
"It was definitely kind of weird trying to score against Maddie in a game," Paletta said. "I usually get a little nervous before big games, so it was actually helpful coming back here and going up against my friends. It was a lot of fun."
It sure was fun for the North Carolina-bound sophomore, who was one of five multi-goal scorers on the day for the Cardinals in a 22-14 road victory Wednesday evening.
Paletta finished with five goals while senior Claire Feeney also scored five goals while assisting on two others.
The Cardinals (14-2) jumped out an 11-2 lead in this non-league contest, but the Tigers (10-5) would make a game of it, pulling to within 12-9 at the 18:46 mark of the second half.
In a game of runs, Greenwich would respond with five straight goals before CSH answered with four of its own, cutting the deficit to 17-13 with 8:40 remaining.
The Cardinals, however, scored four consecutive times and ended the game on a 5-1 spurt.
"The scoring was crazy at times but I was very pleased with the last 10 minutes," Greenwich coach Caitlin Keane said. "The girls kept bugging me to make this game happen (against CSH), and finally they got their wish as seniors. As enjoyable as it was for them, a game like this also helps us out for the postseason."
Emily Johnson had four goals and two assists, Emma Christie totaled three goals and two assists and Sophie Waine also finished with a hat trick for the Cardinals, who got 11 saves by Hannah Jeffery.
Shannon Colligan was another catalyst to victory with four assists, while Tori Dunster and Molli Haimerl each netted a goal.
The driving force in the Tigers' comeback attempt was Maggie Annecchino, who poured in a game-high seven goals -- including three straight as CSH closed to within 17-13.
Alli Sciarretta, Jen Schwabe and Colleen O'Neill each scored twice for CSH, the defending FAA champion which will play at second-seeded Greens Farms Academy in the semifinals of the league tournament on Monday at 4 p.m.
"I have all the respect in the world for the Greenwich program and one of the reasons we wanted to play this game was to schedule a good team right before the tournament," CSH coach Courtney DePeter said. "They have so many girls that can really shoot. I think we played with a lot of heart coming back from 11-2. We try to play all 50 minutes like its 0-0, and I think we did that today."
Greenwich will begin play in the FCIAC tournament on Friday, and could get a quarterfinal round home game depending on the seedings which will be determined by a coaches vote on Thursday.
Tri-State lacrosse Top 20: Week 7
CT power rankings: Spring sports ('12-'13)
All-Metro boys and girls basketball: 2012-13
All-CT teams: Winter 2012-13
