Tam Faces Familiar Foe in NCS Soccer Semifinals

soccer coach realizes his Red-tailed Hawks are likely to see a different Marin Catholic team Wednesday in the North Coast Section (NCS) semifinals than the one his squad beat 2-0 a little more than a month ago.

But Kennedy realizes the Hawks have added a not-so-secret weapon of their own headed into the 5 p.m. duel.

Star defender , who saw her first game action of the season in the Marin County Athletic League (MCAL) finals two weeks ago after suffering a serious knee injury, is quickly regaining her old form and gives the Hawks more than just another standout player in the lineup.

“She makes us better,” Kennedy assured. “She gives us some options, and more than anything, she gives us senior leadership. So we’re very happy to have her.

“Hey, all the help we can get right now.”

Whether it’s at her usual spot in the back or as a target up front, Miller figures to come off the bench for long first- and second-half stints, completing the “Big Three” of and that Kennedy expected would steamroll opponents all season.

As it was, the Hawks still managed a 17-4-2 record and an  almost entirely without Miller. But one of those four losses was against Marin Catholic when the teams tangled in the first week of the MCAL season.

The Hawks avenged that defeat the last time around, and it’s the team that takes that rubber match that will advance to the finals later in the week against either Redwood or University-San Francisco.

“I think they’re going to be very motivated. We got them the last time out,” Kennedy said of Marin Catholic. “But they were missing a couple of players.”

The second-seeded Hawks are coming off a 5-2 second-round win over Marin Academy, a match Kennedy insists was far closer than the score would indicate. He believes his squad will have to play better Wednesday.

“We have to regenerate our momentum,” he said. “We had a ton of momentum at the end of (MCAL) season, but then we had a nine-day layoff, which I don’t like.”

Kennedy knows Miller, Ledger and Rothlind will have to play key roles in the semifinal, but he warned it would be foolish for Marin Catholic to focus just on those three.

He considers and critical to the Hawks’ success, as well as freshman goalie .

“What Katie gives us is work rate and physically in the midfield. She does a little of the dirty work,” he said. “That kinda allows Storie and Kalia to be Storie and Kalia.

“We really want them to get the ball as far forward as they can. Gillespie does a lot of that, along with Lena Geupel.”