On Tuesday, March 31, the boys varsity lacrosse team faced a hard loss to Tamalpais after a well-fought 8-11 game at Tam.  

In the first quarter, Redwood started off strong with senior Henry Barker scoring the first goal of the game, putting Redwood at an advantage over Tam. 

The game continued to be back and forth with senior Rudy Vasquez scoring a goal but Tam staying right with them, tying the game once more at 2-2.

Rudy Vasquez once again scored for the Giants, placing them back in the lead at 3-2.

The end of the first quarter ended with Tam scoring another goal making the score 3-3. 

Tam started the second quarter with a quick goal two minutes in putting the Giants down 3-4. During the quarter the ball was primarily on Redwood’s side of the field forcing them to play defense.  

When the Giants were able to stop the defense and go on a fast break, the ball would often end up dropping and getting back into Tam’s possession.

For the rest of the game Tam began to play a zone defense, defending an area rather than man-to-man defense.

Redwood head coach Neil Butterfield was yelling for the team to “get into a rhythm from the sideline.”

“We just weren’t very crisp with our sticks today, so we weren’t in rhythm. It was really just kind of basic stuff,” Butterfield said.

The Giants headed into halftime down 3-4.

The third quarter began aggressively with Redwood fighting to take the lead back. 

Tam was quickly able to score two goals back to back 5 minutes into the third quarter, putting Redwood at a disadvantage down 3-6.

Junior Emmett O’Neil was able to get the ball on to Tam’s side of the field and pass the defense to score a goal. Redwood began to slowly close the gap in scores making it 4-6.

With 21 seconds left in the third quarter Tam is able to get another shot off and score, widening that gap again, putting the score at 4-7.

Only 10:52 into the fourth quarter Rudy Vasquez was able to score. Starting off the final quarter strong and making the score 5-7. 

Shortly after Tam gets another goal after putting Redwood back on defense. Putting the score at 5-8 with 8:16 left. 

Rudy Vasquez was able to get the ball down the field on a fast break. He passed to senior Dylan Poncet who passed to Barker. The play ended with the ball being passed back to Rudy Vasquez who was able to get a shot off and a goal. 

This play put Redwood only down by two with the score being 6-8.

Senior captain Tommy Vasquez was able to get a crucial goal. Putting the pressure on Tam making the score 7-8.

Redwood tries to keep their momentum going but ends up turning the ball over. This turnover ultimately leads to a goal by Tam, putting the Giants back down at 7-9.

With 1:25 left for Redwood to change the score of the game, O’Neil makes a much needed goal. Closing the gap in the score again, making it a one-point game at 8-9.

This goal only fired Tam up leading to them scoring another goal. Making it harder for the Giants to catch back up with the score being  8-10. 

“I think we went into the game thinking we were going to win. And although confidence can be good with the team sometimes it just wasn’t with us because we thought we could get every ground ball and they just wanted the game more than us,” Tommy Vasquez said.

As the clock wound down in the final quarter Redwood was able to get two last shots off that were both blocked by Tam’s goalie. 

The game ended up resulting in a loss for Redwood and the final score being 8-11.

“It seemed like the momentum was with them the whole game. I mean it was just not a great performance for us overall,” Tommy Vasquez said. 

The team plans on bouncing back from this game because according to Butterfield everyday is a new day to win. 

“I thought they fought hard but from an execution standpoint, definitely not our best,” Butterfield said. 

Their next game is an away game on Thursday, April 2 against Terra Linda.