A cloudy, cool, fall day made for perfect soccer weather. Taft was missing two of their regular defense due to injuries, but the team made some selfless adjustments this week in practice to accommodate for the holes in the lineup. Anna Sinkler '24 provided the that support for most of the game, along with Ana Karpas '24, both doing a great job supporting the reliable trio of Leah Wasserstein '24, Maddie Gabriele '24, and Esmee Clew-Bachrach '24. Taft started the game intercepting the ball off the start and Annabel Izmirlian '24 scored a goal after a nice passing sequence in the first 39 seconds of the game. Taft continued with the strong passing game for the next 5 mins, putting pressure on the Hopkins. At 5:35 mins in, Annabel Izmirlian '24 scored a second goal when trying to make a cross and it instead deflected off a Hopkins defense's foot. Seven minutes later, Grace Denious '22 took a shot from 10 yards outside the 18 and it soared over the keepers head, making the game 3-0 only 13 mins into the game. This lead allowed for a lot of substitutions and more playing time by newer players. Lauren Duque '25 was the most impactful she has ever been in a game, making some really nice passes to her teammates and running on to balls with more confidence than I've ever see before. Vanessa Snyder '25 stepped in big ways as well, providing help in both the offense and midfield. And Brady Franz '24 upped her game with better positioning than she has had all season. In the second half, Hopkins came out strong, motivated to turn the game in their favor. Taft made multiple stops but a quick offensive push by Hopkins lead to a goal in the 16th minute. Encouraged to respond, Taft turned the pressure back on and with 5 minutes remaining in the game, Coco O'Brien '25 completed a pass from Margo Kahler '22. This finalized the game at 4-1. Taft plays Miss Porters away on Wednesday.