Win or Lose (10 page)

Taylor got the ball from Frida, and she could have easily passed it to Jessi. But she passed it to Maya instead, and one of the Panthers blocked it. That was how it went the whole first half. The eighth graders refused to pass to any of the seventh graders. Jessi started to get angry about it.

“Come on, over here!” she yelled at one point when Taylor had the ball. She could have easily passed to Jessi, but she just ignored her, and one of the Panthers kicked the ball right from under Taylor's feet.

“I was right there!” Jessi yelled as she raced past Taylor down the field, but Taylor didn't reply.

To make matters worse, the Panthers offense was on fire. They kept getting the ball down by our goal, and Emma made some great saves. But then Emma kicked the ball away from the goal, and one of the Panthers strikers kicked it right back. It whizzed past Emma into the goal.

“Sorry!” she called out.

“It's okay!” I called back.

The Panthers scored again when one of their players dribbled right between Sarah and Anjali until she was just six feet from the goal. Then she sent it skidding superfast across the grass, and Emma couldn't catch it in time.

When the half ended, the Panthers were winning, 2–0. I couldn't help noticing a satisfied smile on Mirabelle's face as she jogged off the field.

Coach Valentine was pretty upset.

“What are you girls doing out there?” he barked, his face turning red. “I've seen you play better than this! It's like you've forgotten how to play! Grace! Devin! What is going on with this team?”

I looked right at Grace. Her cheeks were pink, and she looked uncomfortable.

“We'll do better, Coach,” she said.

“Yes we will, Coach,” I added quickly.

Coach shook his head. “It makes me wonder how you girls got this far and my boys are sitting at home right now,” he said. “I'm gonna figure out a lineup for the second half. Now I want you guys to stretch out.”

Coach Valentine's words really stung. He didn't think we were as good as the boys, or that we deserved to be there! Even more than winning, I wanted to prove him wrong—and I knew what I had to do.

I walked up to Grace, who was whispering with Megan and Giselle.

“Grace, can I talk to you a minute?” I asked.

Grace looked from Megan to Giselle, who both shrugged. “I guess,” Grace said reluctantly.

She and I walked over to the sidelines. “Listen, I know this all started with you guys mad at me about that newspaper article,” I began. “And I'm sorry about that. But it's gone too far. We really need to start working together or we're going to lose this game.”

Grace bit her lip and brushed a strand of blond hair away from her face. “We're not trying to lose,” she said.

“Maybe not, but that's what is going to happen if we keep playing with only half a team,” I said. “It's like what Coach Flores said. We have to help one another. We have to play as a team.”

Grace looked over at Coach Valentine. “I wish Coach Flores were here.”

“I do too,” I said. “But she's not. And Coach Valentine
thinks we stink compared to his precious boys' team. We need to prove him wrong.”

Grace nodded.

“So are we good?” I asked.

“I guess,” Grace said hesitantly. “For now.”

It was better than nothing. “Then let's do this,” I said.

Grace and I jogged back to the team. Grace clapped her hands.

“So, listen up!” she called out. (Grace was always pretty quiet, but she could be loud when she needed to be.) “We need to work together as a team out there, just like Coach Flores said. We've got to help one another.”

She looked right at Megan and the other eighth graders. “That means we're all in this together. Got it?”

Megan kind of frowned, but most of the other eighth graders nodded.

“Got it!” everyone shouted.

Coach walked up to us. “I need you guys to play like you mean it!” he said. “I know you've got it in you. Brianna, Devin, Zoe, you're forwards. Olivia, Gabriela, Maya, Alandra, you're midfield. Frida, Sarah, Anjali, defense. Emma, I want you back on goal. But, defense, you need to work harder for her. Got it?”

“Got it, Coach!” everyone shouted again.

Grace thrust her hand in front of her, and we each slapped a hand on top of hers.

“Goooooooo, Kicks!”

My heart was pumping fast as I ran out onto the field at the start of the second half. Now that things with the eighth graders were mostly settled, I started to think about what it might mean to win this game.

If we beat the Panthers, then we would win our division. The Kentville Kangaroos would be division champs. That would be amazing.

After that we'd go on to the early rounds of the state championships. The Kentville Kangaroos would actually have a shot at being California state champs. That would be even
more
amazing.

But first we had to beat the Panthers, and we were down by two goals.

The ref's whistle blew, and we charged into the half. I noticed that Coach Valentine had taken off the field most of the girls who hadn't been passing to the seventh
graders. Had he figured out what was going on?

We still had eighth graders on the field, though, and they must have listened to Grace, because suddenly we were working like a team again. Gabriela got control of the ball and passed it to Olivia. Olivia avoided a Panthers midfielder by passing the ball to Alandra. Alandra took it down the field and then shot it to Brianna. Brianna shot it right into the goal—and just like that, we had scored our first goal!

“Princess power!” I heard Maisie yell from the stands, and the rest of the Kicks fans went wild.

I high-fived Brianna and we jogged down the field. The Panthers quickly made their way to our goal, but our defense gave them a good fight.

“Take that, goblins!” Frida cried as she kicked a ball away from one of the Panthers strikers.

The second half moved really fast, and Coach kept switching up the players. He brought Grace, Taylor, Megan, and Jessi back in, but he never took me out—something I was secretly proud of.

But the best thing was that Grace and Taylor passed the ball to me and Zoe a few times. Megan, Zoe, and I kept getting close to the Panthers goal, but the defense kept getting control of the ball.

Then we got lucky. One of the Panthers kicked the ball out of bounds, and Grace threw it in. I was right on it, but I hadn't gotten far when one of the Panthers ran right up to me.

That's when I spotted Megan right by the goal, and I
passed the ball to her. The kick bounced up at the end, but Megan kneed it—right into the goal!

The score was tied 2–2!

“Way to go, Megan!” I yelled, high-fiving her, and Megan slapped my hand back.

Both the Kicks and the Panthers tried to break the tie, but by the time the second half ended, neither of us had scored. During the regular season, it was okay for a game to end in a tie. But this was a division championship game, so there would be a tiebreaker. I ran off the field with the other Kicks, and we gathered around Coach Valentine.

“The league director has specified that in the event of a tie, there'll be a shoot-out,” he explained.

“Like in the Wild West?” Emma asked.

Coach sighed. “No, not like in the Wild West. It's a penalty shoot-out. The ball is set up at the twelve-yard line, and you'll take turns shooting. Each team gets three shots on goal. The team that scores the most during the shoot-out wins the game. Emma, I want you on goal.”

Emma turned a little pale. “So there's no defenders?”

“No defenders,” Coach Valentine said flatly.

“Emma, you can do this,” I said. “Remember, we've done shoot-out drills before. You were great.”

“Devin, Megan, Grace, you're shooting for us, in that order,” he said. “Any questions?”

“Which team goes first?” I asked. I didn't mind going first for my team, but going first for the whole thing—well, that would be a little scary.

“We'll do a coin toss,” he said. “Come on. Let's get out there.”

Emma, Grace, Megan, and I followed Coach Valentine to the middle of the field. The Panthers coach was there with four Panthers—and one of them was Mirabelle. I wasn't surprised; Mirabelle was a great player.

The ref flipped a coin. “Panthers will shoot first,” the ref told us.

“Shooters, line up behind the penalty mark,” the ref instructed. “Panthers will get the first shot, then the Kicks, and we'll keep alternating.”

Emma ran in to the goal area. She was usually pretty confident, but she looked a little nervous. The ref set the ball up on the penalty mark, and Mirabelle stepped up to it.

“Goalie, are you ready?” the ref yelled to Emma, and she nodded. Then the ref nodded at Mirabelle. “Whenever you want.”

Mirabelle looked as confident as always. She ran up to the ball and kicked it hard, sending it skidding across the grass. Emma should have been able to get it, but when she ran for it, she tripped and fell, and the ball skidded past her hands and into the goal.

“One point for the Panthers,” the ref said, and Mirabelle jumped up and let out a loud “Whoop!” The Panthers fans went wild.

Emma looked shaken as she jogged away from the goal and the Panthers goalie took her place.

“Don't worry, Emma. You'll get the next one!” I called out.

“Devin, you're up,” Coach Valentine said.

I jogged up to the penalty mark and took a deep breath. I could feel my stomach starting to flip-flop, and I tried to hold back the nerves, but to be honest, I was starting to freak out. There must have been a hundred people in the stands, and they were all watching me. I took a deep breath as the crowd quieted down.

Then Maisie yelled out, “Princess power!”

I was too nervous to be embarrassed, but then it hit me—that's how Frida stayed focused, by pretending to be someone else. I wasn't just Devin, seventh grader about to kick a ball in front of a hundred people. I was Princess Devin, goblin fighter.

I know it sounds silly, but imagining that I was Princess Devin really did take my mind off being nervous. I eyed the Panthers goalie, who was planted firmly in the middle of the net, her hands on her knees.

I ran up to the ball and then kicked with all my might, aiming for the left side of the goal. It soared up across the field and whizzed right over the goalie's head as she jumped for it.

The ref blew his whistle to signify the goal, and then I heard the Kicks fans go wild. Grace and Megan both hugged me, and I felt like I was on top of the whole world. But the shoot-out wasn't over yet.

One of the Panthers took the next shot, and Emma
dove for it, but it slipped through her fingers. Panthers 2, Kicks 1. Megan shot for the Kicks next, and her kick went a little crazy. For a second it looked like it might miss the goal, but it shot in at the last minute, and the goalie missed it. Panthers 2, Kicks 2.

Emma took the goal for the last time. I was worried that she might be totally nervous after letting the first two get past her, but she looked really determined. When the last Panthers player took her shot, it veered to the right. Emma ran after it—and caught it in both hands.

“Woo-hoo! Emma!” Grace and Megan and I yelled, and I could hear the Kicks fans cheering too.

Emma ran up to us. Now it was all up to Grace. The shoot-out score was still 2–2. If Grace got this goal, the Kicks would win the championship.

“You can do it, Grace!” I yelled as Grace jogged up to the penalty mark.

A deadly quiet came over the Panthers field. I could imagine how Grace must have been feeling. So much pressure! I was glad Coach Valentine hadn't picked me to go last.

But I understood why he had chosen Grace. She looked cool and calm, like she always did. It was one of the things that made her a great captain. I held my breath as she kicked the ball and watched it soar at rocket speed toward the goal.

The Panthers goalie gave it her best, but Grace's ball was just too fast. The Panthers player didn't have a chance.
The ball zoomed past her and bounced against the back of the net.

For a second I couldn't believe it. Then Emma was jumping up and down and shaking me like crazy. The Kicks ran out onto the field.

Jessi ran up to me and practically knocked me down.

“We did it!” she shrieked. “The Kicks win the league championship!”