The cool breeze flew through the field, sending a chill through my skin. The bright lights beaming on the players. I close my eyes to soak up the moment, but also to escape the tension. I try to focus on the game, but my concentration is disturbed by the crowd cheering for the other team. Their stomps and cheers echo through the air. I hear the breathing, the screams, and the shouts. As night fell, it started to get even cooler. Goosebumps appeared on my skin.

            “Selah run please!” Coach Mendoza yelled.

            “I am sorry, but I am trying my best.”

            “I know babe, but you gotta run. The other team can steal the ball very quickly. And please control that donkey kick of yours. We cannot afford the ball getting away from you.”

“I’ll do better.” Selah assured him before running back to her position. I looked at the scored board, zero to zero. It hasn’t changed a bit. Time? Seven minutes left in the second quarter. I sigh a little bit too loud.

“Bela, can you fill up the water bottles please?” Kendall asked me.

“Sure, no problem.” A perfect distraction from the game. Gives me something to do. Personally, seeing people running back and forth makes me dizzy. Fill the water bottles is torture. It is freezing outside and the cold water on my hands does not help at all. I finish filling the bottles up before walking back to the bench.

“If we were to lose,” I was interrupted by a loud cheer from the crowd. “We would have to play Jupiter, right?”

“I don’t know all of the details, but I know we are not going to lose.” Abby stated. The crowd cheered breaking our eye contact. CDS had taken the momentum of the game and our defense fell back. Everyone fell back slow, slower than usually. I look out to see our exhausted players, mentally and physically. Well, that is understandable. Ayanna, our center mid, has been out for foot to throat injury. Katie has been out for cramps. Hailey has been out for a yellow card, and Selah is being run over by the opposing team. Riley and Maylie have been switch in and out during these incidents. Majority of these players have been playing the full 75 minutes. Soon to be 76 minutes, there are four minutes left on the clock.

“Fall back!” Miya yelled from the goal. I can tell she is stressed out, especially because she hasn’t been feeling well this week.

“Chloe, fall back!” Coach Mendoza yells “You’re trying to attack the player head on but get surprised when they steal the ball from you.” I could hear the frustration in his voice. “Fall back, please.” She nods and goes back to her position. Just in time before the other team could get her and break through the defense. Number 10 on the opposing team swept past our offense and defense. My jaw drops at her swift movements. She passes to number 14 on her team. The kick passes by Chloe.

“Take the shot!” She yells at her teammate. Number 14 shoots with no particular method. Just with the purpose of making a goal. The shot passed through Brooke, Nykki, and Mouse. The ball slipped under Miya, then hit the back of the goal. Talk about a plot twist. My jaw drops and my eyes widen. My teammates are the same as well. CDS rejoiced in their lucky shot.

“We can get it back ladies! Pick it up ladies!” Our captain, Kendall yelled. Her faced showed complete determination but also a little bit of fear. The momentum of this entire game had shifted to CDS’ liking, and we only had two minutes to change this. The players started back in the middle and proceeded to the kickoff. We had the ball. Ayanna kicked to the direction of Hailey and Selah. Unfortunately, our attempt to turn this game around was quickly stopped by CDS’ defense.

“I’m open!” Number 10 yelled to her teammate. Her teammate followed her instruction and passed to her. Number 10 then quickly swept through our mid field. Thanks to Madi, our left mid, we were able to block her out in return for a corner kick on our goal. As everyone was getting into their positions, Number ten slowly walked to her spot intentionally to waste time.

“You have got to be kidding!” Abby scoffed. “We only have a few seconds left!” Our future wasn’t looking so bright. While Number 10 was wasting several precious seconds of this game, Mendoza gave orders to the players.

“Ayanna, Madi, get in the box.” Mendoza yelled. I can tell he is disappointed in the team’s performance today. Not to mention his pacing started to make me dizzy. “Katie, Selah, Hailey, push in please. Be open and ready.” They nodded and followed the instructions. Soon, the ref blew his whistle. Number 10 raised her hand to signal her play and kicked the ball with amazing power and strength. As expected, the ball went straight to Number 14. Blocks of all sort were happening. Neither team could seem to get a grip on the ball. Well, that was until number 14 kicked randomly once again. Miya had blocked the ball but didn’t catch it. The ball stood stranded in front of the goal. Unfortunately, CDS had gotten there first and shot at the goal. The ball landed in the back of the net. CDS once again rejoiced in another lucky goal. At this point the fate of this game is sealed. Less than a minute left, with a score of 2 to 0. The probability of us winning this game went down greatly.

“Ladies just keep defending! There is still time!” Abby yelled from the bench. They appreciated the comment but knew the truth. We started at the beginning once again and kicked off at the whistle. Our players ran as fast they could, but our attempts to attack their goal head-on failed. The refs blew their whistles to signal the end of the game. CDS’ coaches, benchwarmers, and other fans ran onto the field to celebrate their victory. Our players walked back in silence, with tears in their eyes. I quickly ran to Miya.

“Miya, you did well overall.” I try to reassure her. “Please remember that.” She didn’t respond. She just nodded and walked to the bench. I didn’t say anything, I didn’t want to hurt her feelings more. She was already crushed. The speakers played music.

“And this, ladies and gentlemen, concludes our district championship between the CDS Knights and the CCS Lancers.”