Varsity Boys Lacrosse - There were thirty seconds remaining in the third period as Oscar passed the ball to Henry on the left side of the field. Henry cradled it, cut to the middle, and worked the ball across the crease to Luca. With fifteen seconds to go, Luca got the ball back to Oscar who was already on the run. Using a low arm angle, Luca fired the ball just right between the legs of the goalie, ending an exciting third period in which Tandem held FA to just two goals, and the Badgers trailed 2-1.
Tandem's lacrosse season began way back in the summer - lots of Badgers arrived on campus to train in the heat of July - and have continued to do so over the course of the winter and into the spring. Our talented contingent of eighth graders - Griffin, Luke, Tim and Levi - have truly given it their all, learning new skills and different facets of the game.
Varsity Girls Soccer -With the clock frozen at 2:00, the game was deep into stoppage time. The Badgers were protecting a one goal lead. Tandem was in a great position, looking to keep the ball in their offensive zone and take time off the clock. Quantico gained possession and cleared the ball up the field to their best striker - and she had a clear lane to the goal. Hadley, also a striker, looked up and surveyed the field. She could not have been farther away from the ball - the opponent was already at mid-field, but, as far as Hadley was concerned, there was simply no way Quantico was going to score the tying goal.
She took off at a breakneck speed, generating even more wind than Monday's tornado. The distance between the two players grew smaller as Quantico, believing she had lots of space, looked for an angle to launch the game-tying shot. By the time Quantico's forward reared back to shoot, Hadley was mirroring her movements - challenging the opponent, tackling the ball away, and creating a special Tandem soccer moment as the ball rolled harmlessly out of bounds. In the words of Coach Tim, "the amount of effort it took as a forward, the highest player on the field, to run a dead sprint for 60 meters after 80 minutes of soccer to shut down Quantico's last gasp was absolutely incredible." If you were on the hill, you'll never forget it.
It's technically the spring season, and our Middle School Girls Soccer team has already endured hail, snow, freezing rain and a tornado. As a result, the team has only had three practices - but that did not stop them from giving their absolute all on the pitch yesterday in front of an enthusiastic crowd!
The thermometer read 36 degrees when the game began, and the Badgers went right to work. April, Freya and Francesca protected the box against a very solid CCS attack, and constantly tackled the ball away from the opposition. They forced the ball out of the middle, and worked in concert with Emma, who had twelve impressive saves on the day!
With his legs exploding off the track and his arms pumping, Gabriel separated himself from the field. With CCA, CCS, Henley and Valley Blaze doing everything they could to chase him down, Gabriel kept his edge and broke the tape in victorious fashion! His time of 14.43 in the Boys 100 Meters marks the first ever Tandem MS gold medal! After all, today was Tandem's inaugural Middle School Track and Field season!
As Coach Julia put it: "You made history today. In our 55 years as a school, you are the first middle school team to run under the banner of Tandem at a Track and Field meet. Our 14 debut runners competed in 13 different events with only 3 days of practice under their belts... you learned how to finish strong, and be there for one another."
Today, Tandem junior Hayes B ran in the New Balance Nationals Indoor Track Invitational in Boston in the 3200M/2-mile race. Hayes ran against the top high schoolers from across the US in this most elite invitational high school meet in the country. The event was livestreamed on the New Balance Nationals website and many students and faculty gathered in the Blue Room (and other classrooms) to watch his heat run at 12:19pm during lunch. The crowd assembled neared 40 at its peak. Hayes ran in the first heat (there were 9 heats in the 2-mile event). The entire room was cheering and coach Jason was calling out his times as he completed each of his 16 laps. Hayes finished 7th in his heat with a time of 9:26.72, just one second off of his PR. Way to go, Hayes! We're so proud of you! Click here to watch a couple of videos from the Blue Room viewing. Click here to check out footage on the New Balance Invitational site. Click on the headline for more photos.