This past weekend, the Bearcats rolled in to town to take on the Rhinos during this year’s iteration of Hotchkiss Day. Taft came out on top over Hotchkiss, winning three out of five varsity matchups — football pulled off the comeback as they scored a touchdown in the final minute of the game to go ahead 21–19, boys’ soccer won in convincing fashion by a score of 7–1, while girls’ soccer was also able to capture a victory over Hotchkiss, with a final score of 3–2. Field hockey and volleyball both fell to the Bearcats, with field hockey losing a hard-fought game in overtime with a final score of 3–2, and volleyball falling 3–0 in straight sets.

Meanwhile, in Lakeville, the cross country NEPSAC Championships were being held at Hotchkiss, where Taft’s very own Charlotte Murphy ’25 raced her way to the top, being crowned the individual champion on the girls’ side with a finishing time 18:02, beating the second place runner by 34 seconds. The girls’ team finished 12th overall out of 14 teams. On the boys’ side, Tate Celebi ’25 finished in 20th place, highest of any Taft runner with a time of 16:49, with the boys’ placing 10th overall out of 14.

With the regular season wrapped up, field hockey officially captured a share of the Founders League title, the program’s third straight. Boys’ soccer was also crowned Founder League champions for the second straight season, and their fourth in the last five seasons. As we head into the postseason this week, both field hockey and boys’ soccer will be playing in their respective NEPSAC Class A tournaments as the three-seed. On Wednesday, November 13, field hockey begins their title defense as they host six-seeded Deerfield on Camp Field at 2:15 PM. Boys’ soccer will host six-seeded Northfield Mount Hermon at 2:30 PM on MacMullen Field.

If you’re unable to make it to campus for the action, catch the livestream of both games here.

Go Big Red!