On a gorgeous fall day, Taft took to the road to take on Class A foe Loomis Chaffee. In a great display of soccer, Taft played gritty and organized soccer but fell in a very even contest 3-5. Play opened with Taft adjusting to the Loomis field and style. Goalkeeper Claudia Torres ’19 was called into action early with two spectacular saves in the first 10 minutes of the game. Unfortunately for the Big Red, Loomis was able to break behind the Taft line and netted two goals before Taft had fully adjusted. Down two 15 minutes into the game, the Rhinos began to show their mettle. Taft controlled the center of the field and had sustained possessions that went deeper into the Loomis half. It would be Susanna Adams ’22 that led the scoring for Taft and sparked a comeback. Adams and Captain Emilee Adami ’19 combined to dispossess Loomis deep within their own zone. Adams crushed a ball from outside of 20 yards past the Loomis keeper, who had some great saves on the day. The 1-2 score would carry into halftime but Taft feeling like they were back in the game. The second half had Taft carrying the bulk of the chances. The backline was able to figure out the Loomis patterns of attack to squelch counters earlier in possessions. On one occasion when the speedy striker from Loomis broke through, Piper Desorcie ’20 had a phenomenal track down and block. Taft would ride the momentum to two second-half goals. Off a counter, Adami would beat both the Loomis defender and cross in a perfect ball. Sophie Webb ’19 made a 25 yard run to get her head on the end of the cross to level the score at 2-2. Just four minutes later, Paton Roberts ’21 turned the corner and put a low pass across net to Patience Kum ’21. Kum controlled the ball and slid it back to the near post to put Taft up 3-2 with just over 20 minutes remaining. The third Taft goal awakened the hosts and Loomis pushed forward with more numbers. Taft could not keep the home team at bay and Loomis put home an equalizer and another goal in quick succession to take a 4-3 lead. Taft would have chances of their own in the final 10 minutes of the game but would not score again. Loomis would score a fifth off of a precise set piece goal with just 15 seconds remaining. There was a lot of high quality soccer played on the day. Unfortunately for Taft they were on the losing end but showed real resolve to fight back from 0-2 down on the road. The play of Kayla Thomas ’20 was of particular note as she put in a full 80 minutes of effort. Taft looks to rebound against Greenwich Academy on Wednesday, October 3rd at Taft. Kickoff is set for 3:30.