"Soccer Showdown"

Erin Cofrancesco

Swinging my water bottle and dribbling my soccer ball, I scurried to the bench with the rest of my team. After a quick warm up, I took my place as defense. The whistle sounded and a fierce game began.

One of my teammates Sammy, clad in a flaming red jersey, rushed forward with the ball. She passed to another offensive player. They advanced on the goal. In the blink of an eye, the soccer ball flew past the goalie's arms and collided with the back of the net. The first goal was ours.

About ten minutes into the first half of the game, our goalie Ally caught the ball on the way to our goal. I could tell the girl who'd made the shot was frustrated. She tore toward Ally, just as Ally punted the ball to a forward. Several events occurred at that moment. The soccer ball hit the air. The girl who'd just failed to score leapt to head it, missed by an inch, and almost fell on Ally. Ally twisted herself out of the way and the girl landed hard on her foot. Our goalie clutched her foot and crumpled to the ground. The whistle blew a second time. In the short time-out, Ally's foot was pronounced sprained and she was retired to the bench. I was unwillingly selected to replace her in goal.

I was so nervous I was shaking. I had never been in goal before, and the idea of being bombarded with soccer balls didn't appeal to me either. Nonetheless, I strode to the goal and stood in the center, barely maintaining a confident smile. A while later, we were still ahead. There had been two or three challenges from our opponents, but the defenders were being careful due to our lack of an experienced goalie and swiftly warded off the attacks. Again the referee screamed into the whistle, marking the end of the first half. I jogged to the bench while my teammates staggered behind me. They were panting with exhaustion, but standing in a net for 20 minutes, waiting and worrying, hadn't tired me in the least. "Keep up the good work, girls," said our coach. "And let's thank Erin for doing a great job in goal." My teammates broke into applause, grateful that they hadn't been sentenced to the dreaded position. The coach then asked me to continue my station in goal for the second half. "You're doing fine now - you can handle it, right?" I nodded instinctively and then froze. It was too late; my fate was sealed.

I trudged back onto the field pretending I wasn't about to cost us the game. I guess the other team had been motivated by their coach screeching at them, because as soon as the second half began, a tall girl with the number 2 adorning her blue jersey seized the ball and charged. A defender Rachel stepped up to challenge the girl, but with a nimble fake, our opponent dodged her. Number two ran up close to the goal, her cleat smacking against the soccer ball. I was dazed, unmoving under the impression that I was experiencing a nightmare. Suddenly an alarm bell blared in my head and I dove for the ball. I was only a second too late, but in soccer every second is vital. The score was one to one. I stooped to collect the ball disgusted with myself.

From that point on, both teams were vicious, and as a result, neither scored.

Several times, I even slapped oncoming soccer balls away from the goal I was guarding. I checked my wristwatch when the ball was at the other end of the field. Five minutes remained. Good, I thought. I had let in a goal, but it would still be a draw. I looked up in time to see a teammate of mine shove an opponent who had been dribbling through the penalty box. "Phweet!" cried the whistle. Oh, no. A penalty shot was awarded to the pushed player, who hadn't suffered a scratch from their ball. A penalty shot. My heart pounded as the defenders cleared aside and the girl swung back her foot. Suddenly a surge of energy erupted inside me. I jumped to meet the soccer ball and my arms encircled it. I had saved it.

We only tied. I might have to play goalie more often now. But as I gazed at the soccer ball, memorizing every indent and stain on its surface, nothing else mattered to me but the goal I had just saved.