Dangerous Play

37 » zero-sum game

I tapped the ball to Zala, who immediately passed it all the way back to Felicity on defense. We spread out, me heading to the right and Zala heading left and forward, as Eden charged past me to challenge for the ball.

Felicity passed out wide to Chanel before Eden could get to her. Our tall blonde winger turned to shield the ball from the Blue Devils player who had rushed forward toward her. By some miracle, she managed to stay on her feet even as the other girl crashed into her, knocking the ball out of bounds.

So that's how they were playing this game. Chanel glared at the Blue Devils player, who pointedly ignored her.

We pushed forward toward the Blue Devils goal as Tess, our right back, stepped up for the throw-in. Tess and I weren't that close, but she was a rock solid defender who could deliver crosses as well as any midfielder. She and Chanel often kept the right side of our field locked down.

Tess threw the ball over the heads of several players in my direction. I kept one eye on the ball and scanned the field quickly, noting the two Blue Devils players who were also approaching. With a quick touch, I directed the ball away from them and gave myself time to decide where to go. There were too many defenders ahead of me and not enough teammates, so I sent it back to Olivia to reset the midfield.

Olivia's first touch was a little sloppy, giving an opposing midfielder the chance to steal the ball. To her credit, Olivia didn't give up, immediately chasing after the player to try and win it back.

On and on the game went. One team would gain possession for a few moments before the other would somehow stop them. I hated to say it, but the Blue Devils were a tough challenge. I'd known this wasn't going to be an easy game, and even with that I was surprised at just how good they were.

It was a cool day outside temperature wise, but with the sun beating down on us none of us felt the cold. I was hot and sweaty by the time the referee blew the whistle to signal the end of the first half.

Coach Walker wasn't pleased with our performance, evidenced by the tight line of his mouth as we trudged his direction at halftime. We hadn't made any major errors, but we also weren't playing at our best, and we knew it. I'd had a couple of chances on goal that were just slightly off target or blocked by the goalie, and I was feeling frustrated. The unevenness of the ground didn't help either—the muddy spots had caused more than a couple of players to stumble, myself included.

"This team is so damn pushy," Felicity complained. "I would've had a goal on that one corner if that one girl with the braids hadn't shoved me. With both hands!"

Noises of assent sounded from around the group. Rose frowned as she rolled her ankle gingerly, having taken a nasty slide tackle toward the end of the half. "We just need to push back harder. We can't let them rattle us."

"They're aggressive, but that makes them reckless," I said. "It takes a lot of energy to play that way. If we can keep our focus and play in control the way we normally do, we can tire them out and exploit their mistakes." Easier said than done, especially since I'd been on the receiving end of a few Marissa Cunningham elbows and tackles. It was taking more and more self-control to keep myself from retaliating, but so far I'd managed to keep my cool.

Coach came over then to give us his assessment of the half. "They play a tight game and like to retaliate when we have the ball. Don't give them the chance. Get rid of the ball as soon as you can and let them tire themselves out chasing." We nodded along to what he was saying. I didn't mean to zone out, but I snapped back to attention when Coach said my name. "Number 13 seems to have it out for you, McMahon," he said. That was Marissa's number. "Watch out for that one."