Boys soccer: Tam rallies past Branson in MCAL playoffs

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Noah Pedersen (8) of Tam gives the night, night celebration after scoring a penalty kick goal with Kenneth Frost (11) and Mateo Hale (5) of Tam during a MCAL boys soccer first-round playoff game between 5th seed Branson and 4th seed Tam at Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley, Calif. on Feb. 10, 2025. (Douglas Zimmerman/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)

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A moment of quality from freshman Marco Caruso and a moment of leadership from senior Noah Pedersen proved pivotal as the Tam High boys soccer team rallied for a 2-1 victory at home against Branson in the first round of the MCAL playoffs on Monday.

Caruso scored a goal from outside the 18-yard box to pull the Red-tailed Hawks level at 1-1 in the 48th minute then drew a penalty kick in the 68th minute that Pedersen buried for the final margin.

“Our whole talk at halftime wasn’t really tactical,” Tam coach Shane Kennedy said. “It was more about, look, this is a well coached, organized team. They get a lead on you, you’re going to have to fight. They’re not going to give you anything. I felt like we didn’t have the intensity we needed in the first half. We came out with some intensity, created a bunch of chances, and got a bit of luck. The pen was clearly a pen but those can be good fortune, too.”

The victory sends No. 4-seeded Tam (8-5-5) into Wednesday’s semifinals against top-seeded Archie Williams (8-3-5) at Red Hill Park. Tam and Archie Williams played to a 1-1 tie last Friday. No. 3 Terra Linda faces No. 2 Redwood in Wednesday’s other semifinal.

Branson (7-8-4) went up 1-0 in the 15th minute when Brody Buxton crossed a ball into the 6-yard box, where Drew Holden headed it home at the back post. The Bulls got into halftime with the lead but Tam had been firing some warning shots – most notably in the final minute of the half when Branson defender Will Swift had to make a crucial sliding tackle inside the box to prevent Devin Perkins from scoring.

Tam kept that same energy in the opening stages of the second half, forcing a big save out of Branson goalie Nicolo Machotka-Farley in the 45th minute.

A few minutes later, Caruso turned the game in Tam’s favor. Caruso had the ball in some space maybe 25 yards from goal and hit a low shot with pace that found its way inside the far post for the equalizer.

“I just saw that I had space to hit it and the goalie was on the near post,” Caruso said. “He was a little bit too close so I just decided to hit it.”

Caruso remained a threat going forward for Tam and earned the decisive penalty kick when he was taken down just inside the left corner of the 18-yard box.

“He’s a young guy so everything he’s done this season has been super impressive, exceeding everyone’s expectations in terms of what he’s brought to this team offensively,” Pedersen said.

Pedersen hit a hard penalty low and to his left to put Tam in front 2-1.

“I always decide where I’m going to go before the game and my coaches put a lot of faith in me to be able to score the penalty,” Pedersen said.

To hear Kennedy tell it, it was Pedersen’s leadership and confidence in himself that led to him being the designated penalty taker in that moment.

“It’s interesting because we’ve missed three penalties this year and he missed a couple of them,” Kennedy said. “He texted me last night and said ‘I’m on pens.’ I go OK, because he’s a senior and a leader. He showed leadership. He stepped up there and I just thought he hit a quality ball. I don’t think anybody’s saving that.”

Branson had a few half-chances in the game’s final stages but the biggest chance fell to Tam when the Red-tailed Hawks had a breakaway in the 77th minute with a chance to kill off the game.

Pedersen fired a powerful shot on target but Machotka-Farley was able to parry it away and keep the Bulls in the game until the final whistle.

“Nico has been such a big big part of our success this year and kept us in the game,” Branson coach Tom Ryan said.

Branson had a couple of dangerous set pieces late and wanted a penalty in stoppage time but Tam saw the game out with relative comfort and advanced to face Archie Williams in the semifinals.

“I’ve known Tom a long time and we’ve had a lot of games, a lot of big games,” Kennedy said of his counterpart. “I knew it was going to be – there was nothing easy. The fact that we got two on them is really good. We created chances but, again, I think it was two teams that are organized and motivated and I thought it was a great matchup.”

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Monty Cooke scored the game’s only goal as Terra Linda snapped a two-game losing streak against cross-town rival San Rafael with a 1-0 victory on Monday.

The third-seeded Trojans (7-6-2) travel to face No. 2 Redwood (6-2-5) in a semifinal on Wednesday. TL won the regular-season meeting between the two teams 1-0 on Jan. 15.

Reid Brandt provided the assist on Cooke’s goal against San Rafael (7-11-3).

Boys soccer: Tam rallies past Branson in MCAL playoffs

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