The Taft Rhinos traveled to Greenwich Country Day School for what turned out to be physical and thrilling game of football. The match kicked off on a cloudy humid afternoon on the GCDS’ turf field as both teams played with speed and intensity right from the opening whistle. The Rhino’s quickly pressed up the field and struck gold in the third minute of the game when Clara Eckstein ‘22 looped a shot from the left-hand side of the box into the upper left hand corner to open the scoring in Taft’s favor. The quick start galvanized the team and Sarah Elkas ‘22 made several key saves while distributing the ball well, before GCDS equalized in the 29th minute on a thunderous strike from 20 yards out that simply could not have been saved. Dogged play from fullbacks Celia Torino ‘23, Macy Cherneff ‘22, and Ellie Perkins ‘23 allowed the team to continuously build attack after attack and they were rewarded again when Clara placed the ball low and away to make the score 2-1 in Taft’s favor going into the break. In the second half of the game players from each team really dug in and played aggressively. Wing forwards Annabel Brawn ’23, Annabelle Shanks ‘21, and Sterling Thompson ‘21 made their presence known all throughout by moving into space off the ball and closing down opposing fullbacks and midfielders whenever we lost possession. Erin Lonergran ‘23 harassed the opposing defense with slicing runs behind their back line and cause all kinds of problems in the second half. Charlotte Hanson ‘22 and Hollen Spain ‘21 were crucial in winning possession back and holding the ball well when the game became closer. Despite giving up a goal in the 52’ minute, when GCDS equalized at 2-2, the center back combinations of Margot Kahler ‘22 ,Keeley Brooks ‘22, and Grace Denious ‘22 were a force to be reckoned with and often went up towering above their opponents to clear away dangerous long balls. In the 67’ minute, GCDS was awarded a penalty and, despite Sarah getting a strong hand to the free kick, the ball went over the goal line to give GCDS a 3-2 lead with 12 minutes left in the game. It was especially crucial that at this time (and all throughout the game) our bench never gave up their focus, enthusiasm, and support of the team. The Rhinos fought back. Surging forward on a fast-break, Clara found Sadie Frame ‘22 for a beautiful one time cross and Sadie made no mistake, burying the ball in the back of the net to equalize with six minutes remaining in the game. The Rhinos were not satisfied with the scores level at 3-3. With under a minute to play, Clara latched onto a long ball over the top, raced past defenders to the keeper’s right, and cooly slotted the ball home to the left corner as the team then ran to celebrate together with the game winning goal secured with 12 seconds left on the clock. A fabulous win, a fantastic opponent, and another comeback win for the Rhinos. Next up is Hotchkiss at home.