Tam Girls Soccer Squad Bests Branson in Shoot-Out

It took a seemingly marathon effort, but after two halves of regulation, two overtimes and seven rounds of penalty kicks, the girls soccer squad dispatched the Branson Bulls in a Marin County Athletic League (MCAL) semi-final playoff showdown Wednesday. The Hawks advanced to the MCAL title game at home against third-seeded Drake Friday evening.

“We pulled it out,” Tam Coach Shane Kennedy said.

After battling to a scoreless tie through regulation and two overtime periods, the game went to a shoot-out.

Kaitlin Gillespie provided the winning penalty kick after the Hawks and Bulls battled through six rounds of penalty kicks to a standstill, with Storie Ledger, Essie Winer, Phebe Miller, Nicole Henderson, Kalia Rothlind and Catelin Firmage all making their penalty kicks for Tam. Freshman goalkeeper Liz Archer came up with a save on Branson’s final kick to save the win.

Tam (15-4-2) came into the contest the heavy favorite, but Kennedy credited Bulls coach Tom Ryan with an excellent game plan. Kennedy said that while Tam possessed the ball more than Branson, it was part of Ryan’s plan.

“It was almost by their own design,” he said. “They sat back and looked to counter. They had a good game plan and were very well organized in executing it. We had some chances but we just couldn’t finish in the final third.”