Spectators stood closely to the sidelines armed with umbrellas and rain gear as coaches and teammates shouted across the field in attempt to score a goal. On Wednesday, Jan. 16, at Branson High School, the girls’ varsity soccer team tied the Bulls, ending with a score of 0-0.

The Branson Bulls have always been a tough competitor for the Giants, as Branson placed second in the Marin County Athletic League (MCAL) championship last year and the Giants ended in third. However, the Giants still have a few games ahead of them before MCALs begins, giving them an opportunity for redemption.

According to sophomore Maya Rembrandt, a left wing, each girl put their best effort forward to not let Branson take home another win. Rembrandt would also prefer a tie over a loss, as the result still gives the team a chance to win at MCALs.

“The first time we played [Branson], we had a tie also, so it wasn’t that surprising. Obviously we wanted to win, but a tie is not shocking. I think we could have kept possession of the ball more and connected more instead of playing so directly, but we played a pretty good game,” Rembrandt said.

Additionally, Rembrandt is looking forward to how the Giants are going to place at the end of this season, as this is a new and diverse team in comparison to last year.

“Our whole team vibe is a lot more positive, and I think we improved a lot from last year. We had some key seniors graduate, but we had some good freshmen come in,” Rembrandt said.

Since this is Rembrandt’s second year playing soccer for Redwood, she knew what to expect coming in, however it is the opposite for her teammate Mia Hammant. Freshman Hammant has been playing soccer ever since she was young and is now a goalie on the varsity team. Hammant blocked several shots on goal throughout the game, which helped to keep the score at a tie.

“It is really fun playing with varsity, because it’s really nice to play with older people. I was hoping we would win today, but I was glad for 0-0; I’ll take it,” Hammant said.

Despite Hammant’s disappointment over not taking home a win, she is well-aware of what aspects her and her teammates can work on so that the Giants can finish off their season strongly.

“I think I did well communicating, and I think as a team our backline was pretty solid. I think we could have improved on getting more shots off and getting better crosses. The field was very narrow, so it was hard to do that,” Hammant said.

According to Hammant’s teammate Sophia Curtaz, a junior who plays center back, she expected a win because of the multitude of opportunities for scoring during the game, but was pleased that the defense was able to prevent the Bulls from scoring.

“We had a lot of good shots on goal, but it all comes down to actually scoring. I thought I did a really good job of winning [retrieving] balls out of the air, and playing balls into the box, and I think we really stepped up this year and how we have been playing,” Curtaz said.

While the game ended in a tie, with neither team scoring, the Giants will have another chance to play Branson at MCALs, and their next game is scheduled on Saturday, Jan. 12 at an away game against Tam.

Gallery • 8 Photos

Photo by Lucie James

Giants huddling together before the start of the game.