GameTime CT

Connecticut's premier high school sports website

  • GIRLS SPORTS
    • Basketball
    • Cross Country
    • Field Hockey
    • Golf
    • Gymnastics
    • Hockey
    • Indoor Track
    • Lacrosse
    • Soccer
    • Softball
    • Swimming
    • Tennis
    • Volleyball
    • Track & Field
  • BOYS SPORTS
    • Baseball
    • Basketball
    • Cross Country
    • Football
    • Golf
    • Hockey
    • Indoor Track
    • Lacrosse
    • Soccer
    • Swimming
    • Tennis
    • Track & Field
    • Volleyball
    • Wrestling
  • Schools
  • Newspapers
    • CT Post
    • The Danbury News-Times
    • Greenwich Time
    • The Middletown Press
    • New Haven Register
    • The Norwalk Hour
    • The Register Citizen
    • The Stamford Advocate
  • Polls
    • Baseball Top 10
    • Boys Basketball Top 10
    • Girls Basketball Top 10
    • Football Top 10
    • Hockey Top 10
    • Boys Lacrosse Top 10
    • Softball Top 10
    • Other Polls
  • Scores & Stats
Boys Soccer

Greenwich boys soccer team opens season with shutout win over Ridgefield

David Fierro | September 12, 2019

3
Senior Farid Ghaliya scored a goal for the Greenwich boy soccer team in its 2-0 win vs. Ridgefield on Friday, Sept. 13, 2019, at Cardinal Stadium in Greenwich.
1of3

Senior Farid Ghaliya scored a goal for the Greenwich boy soccer team in its 2-0 win vs. Ridgefield on Friday, Sept. 13, 2019, at Cardinal Stadium in Greenwich.

David Fierro / Hearst Connecticut MediaShow MoreShow Less
Davi Pedreiro helped lead the Greenwich boys soccer team to a 2-0 win vs. Ridgefield on Friday, Sept, 13, 2019, at Cardinal Stadium in Greenwich.
2of3

Davi Pedreiro helped lead the Greenwich boys soccer team to a 2-0 win vs. Ridgefield on Friday, Sept, 13, 2019, at Cardinal Stadium in Greenwich.

David Fierro / Hearst Connecticut MediaShow MoreShow Less
3of3

With most of its roster different from last season, Greenwich boys soccer coach Kurt Putnam was interested in seeing how his team would fare in its first test of the season in the form of FCIAC rival Ridgefield.

An effective defensive effort and a pair of clutch tallies helped the Cardinals pass such a test.

Greenwich started its season off on the right foot, registering a 2-0 victory over Ridgefield at Cardinal Stadium in the season-opener for both squads.

“For the most part, I’m quite happy, considering we’ve only had 10 days of practice with a team that has so many new players,” said Putnam, whose Cardinals advanced to the Class LL Tournament quarterfinals in 2018. “I saw a lot of energy and of course, it’s always nice to start the season with a win.”

Senior Farid Ghaliya and sophomore Joao Limo each tallied for the Cardinals, who took a 1-0 lead into halftime. Senior goalie Padraig Colligan made four saves for the shutout win.

Ray Dearth, a senior made six saves for the Tigers, whose defensive effort was anchored by junior Will Baker and Chad Eskenazi.

“Unfortunately, we came out too nervous and that continued throughout most of the game,” Ridgefield coach Phil Bergen said. “The last 10-15 minutes, we played well, but unless we control the game, we are not going to be able to do much this season. Hopefully, we’ll come around and learn from this experience.”

Ghaliya scored the go-ahead goal near the penalty area in the 15th minute.

“Andy hit a beautiful ball and I saw that I could hit it when it was in the air,” Ghaliya said. “I stayed composed, took a deep breath, because that’s what we’re working on, being composed on the field, and I just tapped it in. If I was too energetic I would have shot the ball right over the goal.”

The score remained 1-0 until Lima converted a penalty kick in the 52nd minute, booting his shot past Dearth to give GHS a two-goal lead. Ridgefield applied more pressure in the second half, than it managed to muster in the opening half and came close to cutting Greenwich’s lead in half. Senior Tim Vanni’s shot from 40 yards out almost found its mark, but Colligan stretched out for the save, deflecting the ball with his hands, before controlling the rebound.

“It’s great to come out with a win, it’s what we were working for,” said GHS senior Davi Pedreiro, who helped pace Greenwich’s solid play in the midfield. “Since it was the first game of the season, it was a little hectic, a little bit of a back-and-forth game. But we came out with a lot of energy and got a lot of 50/50s.”

Senior Max Pisacreta and junior Tadeo Mendive were key defensively for the Cards, who host New Canaan Monday at 5 p.m.

“Everyone was working hard, but since it’s a new team, everyone has to be more confident in who they are and go as hard as they can,” Ghaliya said. “We’ll get better as we learn each other’s movements.”

Bergin is confident in his squad moving forward.

“We have to learn from this experience,” Bergin said. “As the game went on, we won more 50/50s and that generated some confidence. History shows that every good FCIAC team will lose a few games a season.”

dfierro@greenwichtime.com

GREENWICH 2, RIDGEFIELD 0

RIDGEFIELD 0 0 — 0

GREENWICH 1 1 — 2

Records: Greenwich 1-0; Ridgefield 0-1. Goals: G — Farid Ghaliya, Joao Lima; Goalies: R — Ray Dearth (6 saves); G — Padraig Colligan (4 saves).

 

 

About David Fierro

Newsletter Signup

Don't strike out on CT high school sports news. Sign up for The Whistle newsletter from GametimeCT

You agree to our Terms of Use. Your information will be used as described in our Privacy Policy.

Spring Sports Quick Links

Spring Sports Quick Links

BASEBALL 2021: PRESEASON TOP 10 | PLAYERS TO WATCH | GAMES TO SEE
SOFTBALL 2021: PRESEASON TOP 10 | PLAYERS TO WATCH | GAMES TO SEE
BOYS LACROSSE 2021: PRESEASON TOP 10 | PLAYERS TO WATCH | GAMES TO WATCH
GIRLS LACROSSE: PLAYERS TO WATCH | GAMES TO SEE
Spring Sports Schedules

Winter 2021 Preview Links

Winter Sports 2021 Links

2021 ALL-STATE TEAMS

CHSCA: GIRLS BASKETBALL | GYMNASTICS | BOYS HOCKEY | CHSGHA: GIRLS HOCKEY

ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS

BERKSHIRE | CCC | CRAL | CTC | ECC | FCIAC | NCCC | NVL | SCC | SHORELINE | SWC

TeamPlayer Scores and Stats search

Scores and Stats

Video

Podcasts

Fall Sports Quick Links

Fall Sports Quick Links

2021 FOOTBALL COLLEGE RECRUITING LIST
2020 GAMETIMECT ALL-STATE TEAMS
BOYS SOCCER
GIRLS SOCCER
FIELD HOCKEY
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
BOYS CROSS COUNTRY
GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY
2020 LEAGUE PLAYOFFS:
Central Connecticut
Fairfield County
Shoreline Conference
Southern Connecticut
South-West Conference

Twitter

Tweets

Polls

Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.
Follow Us
© Copyright 2017 Hearst Media Services Connecticut, LLC