Coming Home

The Match

The next day was perfect for soccer. It was a beautiful fall day, not to warm, not too cold. We had training in the morning, then Coach let us off for the afternoon to prepare ourselves mentally for the match. At 6:15, we were at Soccer Park warming up. Coach moved to give Abby the captain's armband, but Abby held out a hand, stopping her. "It's the Squirt who made this happen." my older sister said. "She deserves the band." "Thanks, Abby." I said as she put the strip of blue fabric around my upper arm. I jogged out to where the St. Louis FC captain was standing with the referee. Bryan Gaul was waiting for me there. "Thalia Skywalker, I presume?" he said, grinning. "You presume correctly." I said. He looked me up and down, sizing me up. "I expected more." he said. "Shut up." I said. The referee had been watching this exchange with interest, but he now got down to business. "Skywalker, call your side." he instructed, taking a coin out of his pocket. "Heads." I said. "It's heads." the ref said. "Do you want to start with the ball, or do you want to choose your side?" "We'll start with the ball." I said. "Gaul, which side do you want?" the ref asked. "The right side." the red-haired forward said. "Shake hands." the ref instructed. We did as we were told. "Good luck." I said. "You'll need it." Gaul flashed a grin. "Not as much as you will." he said. We went back to our respective teams. "Abby?" I asked. "Got a pep talk for us?" Abby grinned. "Nope." she said. "That's your duty as captain." I glared at her playfully. "Hey! Listen up!" I yelled, imitating the older forward. "Listen up, you guys! We don't just have public humiliation on the line like they do. We've also got extra conditioning on the line, so no Lilly-dipping!" "Lilly-dipping?" Alex asked. "It's a canoeing term." I said. "What I mean is, no slacking. I want everyone giving their 110% out there! Got it?!" "Got it!" everyone said. "Hands in!" I yelled. "Girl power on three!" "ONE! TWO! THREE! GIRL POWER!" we all yelled, throwing our hands up in the air. "I got your six, Squirt." Tobin said as she ran out onto the field next to me. "Thanks, Tobs." I said. "Let's show them how girls play!" I kicked the ball back to Tobin,who took off with it, nutmegging a grand total of three STLFC players before passing the ball to Abby, who passed it to me. I lined up the ball and took a shot. The ball soared into the corner of the goal. I grinned up at Bryan Gaul as I ran back to center circle. "Who needs luck now?" I asked. "Shut up." the red-haired forward said, glaring at me. At halftime, the score was 3-1 USWNT. "Alright, good job out there, guys!" I said, once again imitating Abby. "We've still got another half to play. We're not done yet." we ended up winning the game 5-2. After the game, I walked up to Bryan Gaul, smirking slightly. "I think you have a press conference to call." I said. "Well, I asked one of the sports reporters from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch to come here for that purpose." Gaul said. "Will that do?" I sighed dramatically. "I suppose." I said. "In all seriousness, though, good game." I stuck out my hand, and Gaul shook it. "You put up a fight. We had to play hard to beat you guys." "Thanks." he said. "You guys were amazing. I'm regretting my choice to challenge you." "Part of the reason we played so well was that Coach told us that if we lost, we'd have extra conditioning tomorrow, with an emphasis on beep tests." I said. Gaul laughed. "I see." he said. "Well, she knows how to get you motivated, I guess. Good luck on your friendly." "Thanks." I said. We shook hands a final time, and walked off to our respective teams. When I got back to where the rest of my team was waiting, Tobin put an arm around my shoulders. "Good job out there, Squirt." she said. "You weren't too bad yourself, triple nutmeg." I replied. "Point taken." Tobin said, laughing. We walked off to the vans together, heads held high. 

A.N: The photo at the top is Brian Gaul.