VIRAGO

ukiyo

ukiyo (n.) - living in the moment, detached from the bothers of life

They were able to come away with a victory in their championship or bust game that Wednesday, and it was on to the finals against Sandusky, a team that they have beat but not by much. They were sort of a dark horse throughout the tournament, but they led their bracket and met them in the finals. Since it was the championship, the game was on a Saturday with nothing else going on, and the stands were already starting to fill. The Harbor Beach Pirates were hoping to make history that afternoon, and then later a party at George's, no matter the outcome.

"Ready for this?" Dana asked her as they met at the field.

"Yeah, I think so." She responded. She may have looked cool on the outside, on the inside she was a nervous wreck. She had been in situations like this before, but even so she was still afraid for the outcome. However, she knew she just had to play like she always had and be on the top of her game, for if they were to win this, when they were to win this, they would be heading down to Saginaw for the regional championship, and if they were to win that, they would be heading to the state finals in Detroit.

She got into the locker room and the music from her playlist was already blaring through the speakers in the room as well as out in the stadium. She was already good to go and get out onto the field, so she took the time to go ahead and go out there and walk the turf. The other team was not there just yet, so she took the time to walk around and get into the zone. This was it. This was the moment she hoped would define her high school career. Sure she had made it to state championships with her old high school, but to do it at this one would be outrageous. People already looked at her with disgust and awe, saying she was not supposed to be playing with the boys, or that she was not good enough because she was a girl. She wanted to prove them wrong, she wanted to prove everyone wrong. The guys who shove her for no reason, the guys that make rude remarks, the guys that think she cannot hold her own on the field but beat her up in a parking lot because she stopped anything coming her way.

Look where she was and hopefully going now.

The rest of the team eventually came out onto the field and she was ready to go, getting into routine before the referee called her and Nash over to the sideline to do the coin toss.

"You good Reed?" He asked her as they walked over to the sideline.

"Yeah, you?" She asked, and he chuckled, nodding. They shook hands and did the whole charade of the captains circle and they ended up having to switch sides after winning the coin toss and starting the half with the ball. They met back up with the rest of their team and they all got into a big huddle.

"Alright guys, and Reed, this is it. This is what we've worked all damn season for, and it's in our grasp. You all have played outstanding this entire season, and no matter what happens this afternoon, I am so proud of what you all accomplished. This is probably the best team I have ever coached. To our seniors, thank you for everything you have put into this team, whether you are a veteran or rookie, you all played out of your minds and I cannot wait to see what you do in the future. Now, we have a game to win, so let's do this!" Coach Wallace said to them all in the most motivating voice they had heard all season, and they were all riled up as they took the field. Nash and Samantha looked at one another and smiled while they did their handshake.

"I hope we get to play together again." He said as they started walking towards the backline.

"Oh we will - in Saginaw." She responded with a cocky smile as the center referee blew the whistle, and the scoreboard started counting down from forty minutes. She watched as the ball started to move around their side of the fifty, and how the Redskins forwards were already pressuring them. She could tell they were going to try and play a high press, which meant that their defensive third was going to be exposed and wide open for chip passes. She told Nash her observation and had him spread it to the rest of the team, and as they got into a rhythm, they started to take advantage and played hard through balls and chip passes up to their forwards. Even though they had a few shots on net, they could not get one in the back of it. With only a couple minutes left of the first half, the opposing midfields were able to get in around their defense and slip one of their forwards through. Adams was still hanging back a little and was up to the challenge, but the forward took an early shot at Reed, and even though she was pedalling backwards, she was able to get her fingertips on the ball to divert it away. She fell backwards and quickly tried to get up onto her feet to scoop the ball up, but she had not diverted it away far enough and the forward was already back on top of the ball, but she was a tad quicker, getting to it as it was falling towards the endline. She firmly grabbed it and landed on her side, the ball just on the outer side of the endline. She took a deep breath as she got to her feet, the forward trotting away, no harm, no foul. It was kind of nice to be facing a player that treated her as such, and not someone who got up in her face after a save like that - an amazing one, she might add herself.