Tamalpais Red Tail Hawks girls’ soccer team defeated Las Lomas High School with a score of 2-1 on Feb. 24, winning its second North Coast Section (NCS) Division II title in four years.
The win over Las Lomas marked Tam’s 15th of the season and third straight victory since their 1-0 loss to Redwood in the Marin County Athletic League (MCAL) semifinals. Leading up to the highly anticipated match, Tam ran through the NCS playoff competition, scoring 11 goals while conceding just three in the games leading up to the finals.
“For the past three years of MCALs we’ve lost in the semis, but this year everyone put in so much work. We lost to [Las Lomas] twice. I am really proud of everyone,” Marissa Scanlan, junior and midfielder, said.
The Hawks had a rough start to the season, losing their first six games. It wasn’t until their Dec. 12 match against Urban High School that the team got the spark they needed. Following the game, Tam proceeded to go 13 games undefeated, including an 11-game win streak.
“You kind of have to get used to each other’s playing styles. That’s what we did throughout the season. We’ve played a lot better and got a lot of chemistry,” Maren Jones, senior and team captain, said.
The team is set to lose six seniors including Jones, who is continuing her soccer career at Tufts University.
“This team is a great group of girls with a lot of talent so I am very happy that we won NCS. That’s honestly the best send-off that I could’ve had,” Jones said.