Chapter 31: Headstrong
Morgan was beaming with pride despite being scared out of her mind. She stood there, in the locker room, hoping that her teammates would only see the pride. She was so nervous for the soccer game today. She made sure that her black soccer shorts were tied and her spandex underneath weren't riding up. She double checked that her black soccer socks were all the way up and her shin guards were placed properly. She double knotted her laces on her black cleats and grabbed her jersey out of her locker. It was a black jersey, just like the rest of her uniform, with white lettering. Her last name was across her upper back with the big number 1 on her back. There was a smaller number 1 on her left breast. Across her chest in moderately sized letters was the word SPARTANS. Morgan was going out of her mind as she put on her goalkeeper gloves, but then the coach blew his whistle and a calm fell over her. She was ready for the game.
When she set foot on that soccer field, she could feel her breathing steadying. The whole team got together, dropping their water bottles and pinnies at the bench before running around the soccer field to warm up. It was almost dark out, so the stadium lights were on. As they passed the bleachers, she saw her dad and Sam sitting front and center. They gave her smiles and waves as she passed. The teenager nearly started laughing as she noticed her dad stuffing his face with concession stand nachos and Sam casually eating an apple that he more than likely brought from their house. Time flew by her as the whole team did their dynamic warm-up together and did their finishing stretches. She got in goal, as she was starting the game. Her whole team was running a drill while she was getting shot on by two of the Coaches. They had four in total, and the two that were in professional soccer were warming her up. They gave her shots high, low, wide, and right at her face. They were all fast, they were all hard, and they were all shot with extreme accuracy, and Morgan was ready for all of them. She was reading the coaches body language, how they were angling their bodies and how their feet connected with the balls for each shot.
The rest of the team finished their drill and started lining up to shoot on Morgan. That only lasted for a couple minutes before they all got into the scrimmage drill where four offensive players would face off against three defensive players. They had to string together six passes before they could shoot on Morgan. As soon as the drill was over and the buzzer on the scoreboard went off, the whole team scattered and ran back to the bend where the coach told the starting lineup to actually line up for the national anthem. Morgan had to head the line. They went out to the middle of the field, both teams with their starting lineups facing the bleachers. The announcers called off the names, numbers, and grades of the opposing team, and then they moved on to the home team.
"And this year, your starting lineup for the first varsity game in the Spartan's season…" the announcer read off the whole team before getting to her. "And in goal, number one, Freshman Morgan Winchester!" It was almost immediate as her dad and Sam stood up and cheered. She could see her friends behind them, cheering right along with her family.
There was one minute left and the game was 1-0. The Spartans had only scored once. Morgan knew they could've scored more, they just weren't really trying. The offense was getting lazy. Morgan hadn't been scored on yet, and she didn't intend on letting anything get passed her in the next minute. The team only had the center back and her to thank for not getting scored on. The left and right defenders were doing well, they were just getting caught to far out of the channels that they were opening up, giving the offending team a straight shot and it was irritating Morgan almost as much as it was irritating their coach. He hadn't stopped yelling the entire game. He was telling them to stop clustering, to stop ball watching, to start communicating, and to start using their brains. The only people getting cheered on by the head coach were Morgan, every time she made a save, and the senior playing center back, the sweeper named Johanna.
The main stryker from the other team, the Belleville Tigers, was charging the Spartan back line with one of their midfielders gearing up to serve her the ball. The stryker was dangerously close to being off sides, but she didn't care. They were making a last ditch effort to come back in the game. Morgan saw the ball and the moment it was in the air, she knew exactly where it was going. The teenager charged, knowing the ball would be within the 18 yard box. She placed herself, timing it just right when she jumped into the air, reaching up. Her hands snatched the ball out of the air and cradled it into her chest. It was in that moment, that the stryker charged Morgan and instead of stopping, she used her momentum and punched Morgan right in the face. The scoreboard buzzer went off as Morgan dropped the ball. The cheering from the fan section turned into yelling in protest.
"What the hell!" Morgan yelled at her after she stumbled back. She knew she was going to have a black eye. Morgan hated it when girls thought it was a good idea to hit her. It never was. The girl swung again and this time Morgan ducked and surged forward. She shoulder checked the girls stomach and slammed her into the ground, pinning her with ease. Morgan put her knee on the girl's chest and grabbed her wrists in an iron grip so she couldn't hit her any more. It all happened so fast that no one tried to stop her.
"Are you done?" Morgan yelled in an angry and demanding tone. The girl trapped beneath her went silent and stopped trying to fight her. Morgan must've had that look on her face, the one Jonah used to tell her she had when someone, particularly Lainey, had provoked her. She understood that she had anger issued, but she didn't realize that it was so visibly read from her expression. The whole field was quiet. The girl relaxed.
"Yeah, I'm done," she admitted. Morgan could feel this girls emotions. She couldn't help it. It seemed that the young psychic could have an unadulterated sense of people's emotions from skin to skin contact. Well that's new… good to know. Morgan thought to herself.
"Alright, then," Morgan got off the girl, even extended her hand the help the player up off the grass. She looked to her coach and he seemed to be beaming with pride… literally. She could feel it melting off him. The more she looked the most the emotion began to take a color. It was an odd shade of purple, it was unexpected, but she knew what it it was. It was his pride. As the game was now over, all of the players on the team, including herself, went to to the sidelines and grabbed their water bottles before heading back to the locker room. Morgan was too lazy to tell her dad and Sam that she would meet them after the team meeting, so she sent them a mental note, literally.
"Ladies," Her coach cleared his voice in the girls locker room, all of them looking at him in attention. "You may have won, but I am very disappointed in the team. The only goal you got was a one touch hit off of your keeper's uncanny ability to serve a put straight to our striker's if she so feels like it," he flashed Morgan a look. "Now, I know it's friday night, so I'm not going to yell at you guys for the next half hour. Instead, I'm gonna let you guys go..." He flashed a smile. Some of the girls cheered, but Morgan could feel the other shoe about to drop. "... and when you come back on Monday, you're all going to be running suicides for the first hour of our two hour practice," he told them. All the girls looked like they were gonna die. "You're all dismissed," He told them and girls started grabbing their stuff. She stood at her locker and took off her jersey and her game shorts and put them back in her gym locker with her keeper gloves, shin guards, and her cleats. The stuff she wore beneath her uniform went into her bag so she could wash them. They usually caught the most of her sweat. She was quick like the rest of the girls, stripping down and wrapping herself in a towel before running to the shower with her hair up in a haphazard bun. She got into the showers and rinsed the sweat off her body as fast as she possibly could before she got out of the lukewarm water and dried herself off. She put on a pair of leggings, a bralette, and sweater before stepping into her black slip-on vans.
"Morgan," her coach caught her attention as she walked out of the locker room. Apparently he had been waiting for her. All the other three coaches had already left.
"Yes, sir?" Morgan greeted him, stepping to the side of the hallway with him, shifting the position of her backpack on her shoulder.
"I just wanted to say that was really bold of you to shut down the fight that girl tried to start when she hit you," her coach told her. She could tell that he was staring right at her now swollen left eye. "You know you should probably put some ice on that," he told her. She let out a small laugh.
"Oh, don't worry, Sir. I have a frozen steak at home with my name on it," she told him. She almost wished she was joking, but her dad was planning on cooking ribeye tomorrow. Some hunter friend was visiting and apparently he really liked red meat. Some guy named Garth.
"Way to be prepared, Winchester," he laughed. "Well, I won't keep you, I just wanted to tell you that the coaching staff and I were impressed with your actions. You know, if you keep up this kind of behavior and really bond with the team, you might actually have a good shot at being captain next year," he informed her. Morgan's eyes went wide.
"Really sir? But I'm only a freshman. Most girls don't make captain till they're at least Juniors, usually seniors." She was surprised that he even had the idea. She must've been doing something Have a nice night, kid," Coach told her.
"Thanks, coach!" Morgan told him before walking away. She found the door to the school parking lot. The brisk night air met her skin as she approached the Impala. Her father was leaning against the side of the car, waiting for her as Sam was in the passenger seat.
"Ready to go?" her dad asked as he opened the back seat door for Morgan. She slid into the car and before he closed the door, she responded.
"Yup. Sam said we're going out to dinner… how about not a diner this time?" she asked. Her dad laughed.
"Fine, kiddo," Dean laughed as he got into the car. "I'm really proud of you, Morgan," her father got serious. The young teenager was taken aback.
"Thanks dad, but all I did was tackle a girl and I got a black eye out of it," Morgan stated. Her dad shook his head as they rounded a turn.
"No. I mean, yes I'm proud of you for that too. But, what I meant was that I'm proud of you for how you played in your first varsity soccer game. That, and the fact that you made varsity despite you doubting your abilities. What I'm saying is, I'm proud of you. And I want you to remember that you should never doubt yourself, because with enough determination, you can do whatever you want. You're not a Lose-chester, kiddo. You're a Winchester."