Chapter 3
By halftime the game was still tied at zero. Stephanie was tired. She was going on about four hours of sleep because of that nightmare she kept having. Coach Alexander said that he recorded twenty shots so far that Stephanie had stopped. For soccer that was a pretty busy half.
Stephanie swigged some water and tried to stretch some more. Beth sat down on the bench. Her legs were killing her. As a fullback (defender), she had been helping Stephanie with deflected balls and keeping the other team from taking shots. Stephanie walked over to her and sat next to her.
"Thanks for helping so much. I think the last 45 minutes are going to be brutal." Stephanie said.
"Just hope it doesn't come to penalty shots." Beth said. Coach Alexander called everyone over. He made a few substitutions in the lineup and then the whistle blew signaling that halftime was over. Everyone took their positions on the field. The whistle blew again and the ball went flying through the air.
There was only ten minutes left in the game. There was still no score and Stephanie felt like she was about to drop dead. Then she saw one of the halfbacks (midfielder) from the other team charging at the defense. She made a quick move and surged past the defenders. Stephanie was all alone. She yelled at her teammates for assistance. The defensemen tried to get back but they were too far behind the charging halfback.
Stephanie came out of the net to cut the halfback's angle for a good shot. Seeing this, the halfback tried to correct and move over. Stephanie followed her and the halfback kicked the ball. The ball sailed toward Stephanie. She put her hands up to block the ball but all she got was a face full of it instead. Stephanie fell back and lay on the ground.
The officials blew the whistle. Coach Alexander rushed out onto the field. Stephanie just lay there.
"Stephanie can you hear me?" Coach Alexander asked. At first, he got no response. Then slowly Stephanie's eyes opened.
"Sportacus?" She murmured.
"What was that, Stephanie?" Coach Alexander asked. He helped her sit up.
"Did I stop the ball?" Stephanie asked. The coach laughed.
"Yeah, you did. Come on. Let's get you over to the bench." He smiled. There one of the parents, who was a paramedic, checked Stephanie out. Satisfied she didn't have a concussion, he said that Stephanie could play again. At the next substitution, Stephanie went in.
There was only three minutes left and Stephanie's team was charging down the sidelines. Beth passed the ball up the field. The forward took it and ran with it. Then she passed it to the other forward. That forward took a shot and SCORED!
Stephanie jumped up in the air and shouted. Beth came over and they hugged. The whole team celebrated as the officials marked the score and brought the ball back to midfield. The ball was kicked off and now the other team was upset. They came charging toward Stephanie and the net. Both Stephanie and the defense kept the other team from scoring and when the final whistle blew two minutes later. The whole team celebrated. They were going to the championship game in two days!
To Be Continued…