In a highly anticipated rivalry matchup, the Redwood girls’ varsity soccer team defeated Tamalpais High School 1-0 on Wednesday, Jan. 28, breaking a scoreless tie with a late second-half goal to secure the win at home.
The game remained tied at halftime as both teams traded possession and defensive stops, and Head Coach Ivan Bandov said Tam’s pressure in the attacking third forced Redwood to stay organized defensively throughout the opening half.
“I think in the first half, we gave their striker a little too much space,” Bandov said. “In the second half, we closed her down more, which gave us more of the ball.”
Coming out of halftime, Redwood made adjustments to close down Tam’s attack and limit scoring opportunities.
Junior Teagan McCormick, Redwood’s center back, played a key role in making Tam’s buildup play more difficult in the second half.
“We had her shield Lauren, their center forward, a little more in the second half so the ball entry into her was more challenging,” Bandov said.
The breakthrough came late in the second half when senior Lily O’Shea scored off a corner kick from fellow senior Sydney Middleton to break the tie.
“I think once we got the goal, and once we kind of found our momentum and patterns, we got more confident and got more calm on the ball,” O’Shea said.
O’Shea said the rivalry added pressure going into the game.
“There definitely was extra pressure,” O’Shea said. “It’s always been a big rivalry game with Tam.”
Despite Tam’s Lauren Willard receiving a yellow card as the physicality increased, Redwood’s defense held strong to seal the win in the final minutes.
“Our bench was super energized,” O’Shea said. “We’ve been preparing for this game all season, and we really knew that it was a leave-it-all-on-the-field game.”
The Giants will face Marin Catholic on Tuesday, Feb. 1, and will look to carry momentum from the rivalry win into the upcoming league matches.
