We had been in this position for the past two years. The prior two years ended with the same result. My team finishing as a runner up to the Avon Eagles. My team and I attended the Westlake Invitational Soccer tournament every year. It started to become a tradition to play the greatly feared Avon Eagles in the final. This year was no different. We won our first three games in the group stages and made it to the finals!

As I walked onto the field, I felt my cleats slowly sink into the crisply cut grass. The same familiar feeling that I love. The same familiar feeling that I felt only a year ago. Warm-ups began, and I was more focused on this game than any other game in my life. By the time warm-ups ended I was drenched in sweat like it were raining. Never before had I worked this hard in warm-ups. I was worried that I had used up all of my energy before what I believed was the biggest game of my life up to that point.

Our coach called us in, his face covered in sweat and filled with a look of determination. He waited for everyone to gather, his bottom lip quivered as he began “Okay guys, you have been here before and you know how it feels to be on the losing end of the game. This year however, it is going to be different!”.

Following his Nick Saban caliber speech, he gave us the starting line up.”It’s you and me up top just like every other game man” Conner repeated. This was it, the moment I had been waiting for since last years crushing defeat. We lined up, then there was the sharp sound of the whistle cutting through the morning silence. Time to start.

The game started the way all others did. I nonchalantly rolled the ball to Conner as he passed the ball back to the defense. However, this time the ball skipped and skipped. The grass was covered with a thin layer of dew, which caused the ball to glide across the grass. These are my favorite soccer conditions.

Avon started strong and scored three goals before we even scored one. All I could think of is how I would not let this be a repeat of last year. After the sluggish start we held the score at 3-1 all the way until half time. That score line didn’t last long as they tallied another goal in the first five minutes of the half. 4-1. They continued their relentless dominance and scored another goal. I was crushed. Luckily we were able to score a goal to cut their lead down to 3.

My coach subbed Conner and I out and called us over, he then said “You guys have 8 minutes to score three goals to force overtime. Do you think you can do that?”.

I had never felt this amount of pressure, but I wasn’t going to give up now. When he was finished talking, Conner and I returned to half field in order to get substituted into the game. The ball crossed over the line, we were allowed to come in. Here we go .

The game was starting to look out of reach until our goalie punted the ball which skipped right by the defense as if it had legs. The ball landed in my path to goal, and I was able to tuck the ball past the goalkeeper. 5-3. My team was starting to gain confidence, when something else helped our cause. Conner shot the ball from the top of the 18 yard box. The ball struck the crossbar but again landed right in my path and I was able to pass the ball into the open net. 5-4. We were in this, this was it. One of the mid fielders passed me the ball around half, I turned and tried to dribble it passed their defense; it worked. I was able to then again have another 1 vs 1 with the goalie, and I won the battle again. 5-5. I had done it just in time, as the second half concluded shortly after the 3rd goal. We had done it and I couldn’t control my excitement.

All we had to do was score one more goal and we would have won the tournament for the first time ever. There was a 15 minute overtime to decide the final game. All I could do was think back to last year, at this same time I was sitting with my head in my palms. Disappointed with our performance and more importantly the outcome. I think back to the post game speech, the cliche “We will get them next year”, or the “We did the best we could”. But a lot changed in a year. This year will be different! I told myself to stay determined. The overtime period started the way regulation time ended, we were dominating. Conner had another shot that flew free, finding the unforgiving post, and again there was someone there. It was Eli Mclean. He poked the ball in, to give us a 6-5 lead. It wasn’t over however. We still had 8 minutes before we would become well deserved champions.

Our coach barked out orders from the sidelines, he was trying to get us into a defensive formation that we would be able to stop them from scoring in. With two minutes remaining their team had not put together any offensive threat. The same thing happened with one minute remaining, and then there was 0 seconds on the clock. 6-5. I wish I could relive this moment a million times. In this moment, I fully knew the true meaning of determination. We were champions. However, the most important thing I gained from this tournament was not the trophy. It was that I learned to never give up, and I know use this message to help me in all aspects of life.