As the sun was setting over Mt. Tamalpais, the girls’ field hockey team was competing against Tam, ultimately beating out the Hawks 7-1 on Sept. 17. This added to their outstanding win only a day before, against University High School. It marked the fifth game of the season and magnified the overall confidence of the team, according to team coach Jen Reidy. 

Redwood came out with a fast pace, scoring within the first five minutes of play. They maintained this collective intensity which carried them throughout the game. Senior captains Eva Oppenheim and Camille Goodhart controlled offensive play, firing quick shots at the Tam goalie. According to the captains, they used the game as an opportunity to fine-tune new play tactics.

“Today we were focusing mainly on switching fields, which is moving the ball from the left all the way over to the right. We wanted to spread the field to pressure Tam’s defense,” Oppenheim said.

The blowout allowed some of the players from the junior varsity team to gain exposure to the varsity level of play. According to Goodhart, most of the team is underclassmen who recently picked up field hockey. 

“I think it’s a really great experience for [the new girls], because they get to play against girls that have been playing for four years, whereas they’ve been playing for about six weeks. They get to see a different level of play and experience that not a lot of girls have the opportunity to have,” Goodhart said. 

According to Oppenheim, despite the outcome of the game, Redwood did not perform to their full potential, missing a number of passes and scoring opportunities. These errors are something that both Goodhart and Oppenheim hope to correct in practice to avoid in future games.

“We need to work on the accuracy of our shooting, as well as making sure that we’re on the post to help get rebounds and so we can capitalize on all opportunities for scoring,” Oppenheim said. 

Reidy, who has been coaching for Redwood for five years, was excited with her team’s performance. From her perspective, the team has a promising future, being the first Redwood team in history to beat the competitive University High School program. According to Reidy, the Giants played an impressive game against Tam. 

“They played intense, fast field hockey and they played [beautifully]. As we head towards our next game, I hope we bring that same fight and fast-paced attack mentality to the Berkeley game,” Reidy said.

The Giants look to maintain their winning streak, competing against Drake High School on Sept. 25 at 4 p.m.

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