On Tuesday, Dec. 4, The girls’ varsity soccer team played with prowess and power, resulting in a tie game Tamalpais High School, the reigning MCAL champions, with a score of 1-1.

The game was tumultuous for both teams. Tamalpais controlled the ball from the start, and a through ball set up sophomore Peyton Hildebrand for an easy shot allowing Tam to jump off to an early lead in the first ten minutes. Redwood came right back, dribbled downfield and earned a corner kick after a Tam defender kicked the ball out of bounds.

The corner kick set up Redwood forward and junior Grace Bouton for a skillful shot into the top corner of the goal, and the Giants quickly evened up the score after only 15 minutes. In the wake of the Butte County Fires, which resulted in many practices being canceled for athletics due to poor air quality, senior Team Captain Maddie Pero was proud of the way her team handled the setback.

“It’s been hard developing chemistry with the team because we weren’t able to practice because of the smoke, but I was proud of the way our team battled back after the 1-0 deficit,” Pero said.

After Redwood’s goal, it was a stalemate. Long possessions for both sides and great defense had both teams stopped in their tracks. The game went into halftime with the scoreboard reading 1-1.

The sun began to set, chilling the team members and the crowd gathered to observe the game. As it began to drizzle, players bundled up in their sweatpants and team hoodies.

Tam came out of halftime making some tactical changes on offense, attempting three shots right out of the break. The shots arched high and were kicked with power but freshman goalie, Mia Hamant, made some crucial saves to keep Redwood in the game.

The match turned into a game of tug-o-war. When Redwood would gain a little, Tam would dig their feet in and pull, and when Tam saw a glimpse of a scoring opportunity, senior Georgia Bennett and the rest of the athletic defense would swoop in and steal the ball away.

As a Team Captain and three year Varsity player, Bennett is optimistic about the upcoming season, but believes the team still needs to adapt to the loss of valuable teammates who graduated last year.

“We lost a lot of seniors including our top scorer this past year, we played great defense but we need to work on scoring and being more aggressive on offense,” Bennett said.

The team’s attitude remained confident and patient as they tried their best to move the ball upfield. As the clock dwindled down, the score remained tied at 1-1 through the end of the game.