What The Heart Wants

Frenemies In The Stands

Ali was seen off at the Philadelphia airport by Carm and Erica before flying back to Orlando. The plans for now are for her to do some college scouting around the Southeast next weekend and then come back to Philly on the 2nd in order to work with the coaching staff and general manager Wendy Gebauer Palladino during the expansion draft and international break, plus be the point person for the club's first public event on November 16th at the National Constitution Center. She landed in Orlando just before 1pm, giving her an hour to get back to her and Ashlyn's condo before kickoff of the US/Korea Republic game.

Ali got home and placed her suitcase next to the washing machine, then turned on the TV and settled in for the match. The first XI today was slightly different than the one which faced Korea on Thursday night, with Ashlyn getting the start in net.

USA First XI: Harris; O'Hara-Dahlkemper-Sauerbrunn-Short; Ertz-Lloyd(c)-Mewis; Pugh-Williams-Dunn.

Bench: Naeher; Huerta, Sullivan; Horan, Long; Press, Morgan

As the teams came out to the center of the field, there was a slightly mixed reaction from the crowd, as a portion of the Courage's supporters section had their backs to the field in protest. A couple of banners were also on display, including one which said "God created Adam and Eve, not Amanda and Eve". Sam and Abby looked at one another and wondered what their supporters were up to with this display, squeezing one another's hand before moving down the handshake line and then heading to their positions.

The ESPN cameras found the offensive banner, with Julie Foudy commenting on its propriety, before moving onto the match at hand. Ali saw this and wondered how Ashlyn would handle the distraction behind her in the first half. Korea had the opening kick-off and, following a bit of positive possession, turned the ball over to Mewis, who looked up and fed a streaking Williams for an early shot on goal that went wide. The two sides played back-and-forth for most of the half, with the US taking a 1-0 lead on a Sam Mewis header from an Abby Dahlkemper free kick. The crowd response to the tally was, again, mixed, as most of the fans were celebratory while that small portion of the supporter section rained down derisive comments on the Courage pair as they embraced following the score. Ashlyn heard the comments and began to get a bit angry, which caused her to be too aggressive on a flighted ball into the box, plowing a knee into the Korean striker's back. The referee showed Ashlyn a yellow card and pointed to the penalty spot. Ji So-Yun took the kick and beat Ashlyn on her left side, leveling the match. After the halftime whistle blew, Ashlyn, Sam, and Abby talked with Jill about the crowd situation and their feeling of safety.

Ashlyn: The fans behind me have been riding myself as well as Sam and Abby all half. Isn't there something we can do to get them to shut up?

Jill: Sadly, no.

Sam: I want to come out and just hide for the second half, but that lets those jackasses win.

Abby: I'm with Sam. I'm having a hard time concentrating when I feel like I have to watch my back in case someone goes too far and tries to nail me with something from the stands.

Jill: How about I start you in the second half, but bring you out maybe 10 minutes in? You get the adoration from the fans that love you and can escape the nuts. Go straight to the locker room if you wish.

Sam: I'd feel safer for the both of us if we could change and hop the team bus before the stadium begins to clear out and a chance encounter with one of the homophobes leads to something.

Jill: Fair. Do that, then.

Ashlyn: Since we're defending away from them, I don't think I'll have too much trouble tuning them out. See if you can get that sign removed, though.

Jill: I'll contact security and see if they can do so.

Following the conversation, Jill and the players entered the locker room for their halftime talk.

The second half was slightly livelier for the US, as the insertion of Horan for Mewis, Huerta for Dahlkemper, and Morgan for Dunn opened up passing lanes. Huerta made a run down the right flank and struck a ball which beat the back line and was latched on to by Morgan, who easily put it in the net. Allie Long came on for Carli Lloyd, who passed the armband onto Becky, and Andi Sullivan replaced Julie Ertz. Jill's final substitution was Press for Williams. The match looked like it would end 2-1 US, but a push forward from the Americans in stoppage time left Kelley O'Hara wide open just inside the penalty area. A Korean defender slid and her boot came in over the ball, catching her on the front of the shin. A penalty kick was awarded and Ashlyn walked up to take it, determined to give the fans a chance to register their displeasure with her. Upon the referee's signal, she buried her shot over the goalkeeper's head. A chorus of boos came from behind the goal, which caused Ashlyn to give them a bit of lip and a two-finger salute. The referee, seeing this, gave Ashlyn a second yellow and the resulting red. Sullivan took the gloves and goalie jersey from Ashlyn to man the net for the final minutes of stoppage time.

US 3 Korea Republic 1 (Mewis/Dahlkemper, Morgan/Huerta, Harris pk; Ji pk)

***

Back at the hotel after the match, Ashlyn was fuming on her bed, replaying everything from the game and wishing she had done something more than just flipping off the boo-birds. Alex came in and sat down on the edge of Ashlyn's bed, hoping her friend would open up about things.

Alex: Don't beat yourself up, Ash. You took probably more abuse in that game than in any other game you've played for the US.

Ashlyn: I'm disappointed in first not keeping my cool when confronted with their reaction, and then not doing more once I had had enough.

Alex: You stayed in there and faced it for the full match. That's bravery. I'm proud of you for staying relatively calm amid the hatred.

Alex squeezed Ashlyn's hand and scooted toward her to embrace her. Ashlyn laid her head on Alex's shoulder, nestling in as the forward stroked her short hair. On instinct, Ashlyn laid a kiss on Alex's neck and pulled out of the embrace, motioning for Alex to come closer. Alex responded by laying her head against Ashlyn's chest and listening to her heartbeat, then placing a kiss on that part of her body. The two friends laid there for a while, with their thoughts roaming but knowing that no one could hurt them right now.