Indoor Cup

It Takes All You've Got!
By: Amy W.!!
I pulled a quick move, to beat the last defender. I quickly ran as fast as my legs would carry me, and headed straight for the goal, tapped the ball to my right, and swung my foot and shot the ball! It was headed for the corner in the air. The goalie dived in a fast motion to block the goal but she missed the soccer ball, and hit the ground hard. It was a goal!!! Then suddenly the referee blew his whistle, end of game… we were headed for the finals!
“Okay girls bring it in,” my coach said. Everyone walked into the huddle around my coach. “You guys did a fantastic job, we need to work on our defensive skills a little more. But great work! Now if you go get something to eat, you need to eat light. A banana, a sandwich, and a gatorade would be great!” We were at Ames indoor soccer complex for the indoor Toyota state cup tournament. This was very exhilarating, especially because if we win this championship game, we were the indoor state champions! We all walked over to our parents. Most of my teammates were staying at the complex, so me and my family decided to stay too.
Finally it was time to warm up for our next game. Everyone was there and eager to play. “Okay girls let’s start warming up for the game,” said my coach, trying to get our attention. Everyone got their soccer balls out of their bags and we did skill drills. That’s where you have to dribble the ball around, and do moves, and also use all the parts of your feet to dribble the ball. It’s definitely not the most entertaining thing in the world!!! Once we were done with skill drills, we all stretched. Stretching is very important, because if you don’t, you could end up pulling a muscle, and be out of sports for a while! Soon the ref came over and checked us in. Ref’s always check to make sure everyone has the proper gear. They also check player cards and take attendance to make sure everyone is there. Finally it was time for the game to start. My coach assigned what positions we would play.
“Ashlee play center back, Ally play left defender, Riley play right defender, Rebecca play left mid, Maddie play right, Alyssa play center mid, Amy play up top, and last but not least Gracey play in goal! All right let’s go!”
“ARE YOU READY?” Screamed Riley
“YA!” Everyone yelled
“ARE YOU SURE!” Riley screamed
“YA!”
“VSA ON 3!”
“1, 2, 3, VSA!” Everyone shouted as we ran out onto the field.
As we ran onto the field, I could hear the parents cheering. The ref blew the whistle and I stepped up onto the line. The soccer ball was waiting there for me like every other soccer game. “TWEET!!!” the ref’s whistle went. I tapped the ball to Alyssa, and she passed it out to Rebecca, who dribbled it down the sideline. When she got close to the end line she crossed it over right across the goal to me! It was a left foot shot which isn’t the easiest if you are right footed! I took a chance and swung my foot. It was in the air! I felt like no one was around me. It was just me, the soccer ball, and the goalie! Finally the shot went in. I scored the first goal of the game! The other team took the ball back to the half line. The ref blew his whistle, and we resumed play.
By half time we had scored 2 points and we had held the other team to no points so far. My coach talked to us about what we were doing well, and what we need to work on during the 2nd half. Then half time was over. We all ran out onto the field. Now it was time to win all of my team thought in our heads! TWEET, the ref’s whistle went. We all resumed play and instantaneously started moving. The ball suddenly ended up by our defense, Ally tried to take the ball away from the player and somehow ended up getting a foul. It just went bad from this point on!
You may think soccer is a sport that doesn’t require a lot of yelling, and aggressiveness, but it does!!! Normally when a ref makes a call against your team, there is always someone who doesn’t like the call and starts yelling, then players get angry and become much more aggressive!!! Much yelling and aggression took place in this game. The awful thing about this call was that there was no foul at all, so technically the ref just gave the other team a free shot. The other team brought up their best shooter to take the PK shot. A PK is when a foul is made inside the goal box, and 1 player gets to take a shot with only the goalie being able to block it. She shot the ball it went soaring through the air. It felt like the whole complex was in silence, like the whole world was watching! She made the shot! My team walked at a snail's pace up to the half line in wonder of what just happened.
By the time the game was almost over, the score was tied
3-3 everyone was so nervous, and on their heels! There was only about 5 minutes left in the whole entire game. WE HAD TO SCORE!!!! Finally there was a break in the defense, I pulled a tricky but speedy move to get around the 2nd to last defender, I immediately made a pass to Rebecca, and we were in for a goal!
“SHOOT!” My coach shouted, Rebecca hesitated and took a last minute shot. We all stood there in wonder, all thinking please go in, please go in. All the parents were on their feet, thinking the same thoughts we were. At last the soccer ball hit the back of the net. It was kind of funny though, because all the parents jumped up in the air, cheering and shouting. I guess they were just as happy as we were. But the game wasn’t over yet, there was still time left on the clock. I high fived Rebecca on the way back up to the half line. The other team brought the soccer ball up to the line, and quickly resumed play! Shortly after the last goal we scored, the ref blew the whistle three times to signal the end of the game. We did it we were state champions!!!
Me and my team went to the trophy stand to get our trophies. This was a very exciting time for all of us. We all took a picture together holding our trophies. I really enjoyed this soccer tournament. I had a great time, we all worked together to win this trophy. We played our A game. We put in all we had to come out with a grand outcome, and we wouldn’t be where our team is today if it wasn’t for this tournament!
THE END!
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