Take a Look At Yourself

Nothing compared to stepping onto the field for the first time. It was a feeling unlike any other. There was this rush of energy when your boots hit the grass and your teammates swarmed around you. The sun beating down on you just completed the atmosphere. Soccer was the world's greatest sport. There was no arguing that.

Taking in a deep breath, I adjusted one of my shin guards and then followed after my team. We were a strong team, arguably the strongest in the nation. We had been national champions for the last three years, and this year would just help cement our coach as someone who deserved more recognition.

When the stretching was over, we started to warm-up our goalie and the rest of the team with some shooting activities. The other team was doing the same thing. Usually, we would stare over and see what they were doing, but they were the Aggies. I fucking hated the Aggies. They didn't deserve our attention.

I had grown up in Texas. My entire life had been divided into Aggies vs. Longhorns. My mother was a Longhorns fan and my father an Aggies. It was day in and day out of which team was the fucking best. Meanwhile, I only cared about the Tar Heels and Tennessee. It went over very well when I chose to play at the University of Tennessee.

"Captains! To the center!" The referee yelled. Finally, I was about to spend the next ninety minutes playing the game I loved more than anything.
*********************************************************************************************************
"Alright ladies!" Coach Anderson motioned at us. "Angie, Lauren, McKayla at forward. Lauren play center. You others can duke it our for right or left. Lauren since you're center, you gotta drop and help mid when they need it. Mariela, Rose, and Beatrice are at mid. Mari, play center for me. Rose I want you on the left. Brenda, you're on left d. Josie, you're on the right. Piper, as always you're the stopper and Harrison is the sweeper. Heather, goal. LET'S GO!"

We took the field, ready for the game to really begin. The Aggies thought they were hot shit because they had a little more funding than most other soccer teams did. But what they had in funding, they lacked in skill. No one in Texas cared about real futbol. They cared about football.

The whistle blew and Angie passed the ball to Lauren. Most people liked to start the game off with a crazy kick up the field which just resulted in their defense getting the ball. That's not how we rolled. Lauren would hold the ball until her offense had moved. Once we were in position, it was all about the passing game.

You know why most soccer teams were talented? It wasn't about the shooting or defense game. It was all about the passing game. Soccer was a game of perfection, a game of skill, and a game of patience. That's partly why so many soccer games resulted in one or two goals total.
*********************************************************************************************************
Ten minutes left and the game was tied at 1 all. My body was exhausted. I didn't think the Aggies would be as fast as they were. They were incredibly lucky that I was faster and more aggressive than they were. Quite honestly, I think the entire team was surprised I hadn't got a yellow card yet. I was the yellow card queen actually.

"BALL!" Brenda yelled and kicked the ball to me. I knew what that meant. It wasn't often that they let me take the ball up the field for a goal. Usually we kept my real speed under wraps unless we desperately needed it. I was the type of runner who surprised everyone. My 400 meter run in high school was 58 seconds flat.

The ball connected with my foot and I took off like a shot. The field passed by in a blur as I dodged around players, using my elbow if need be. The right side of the field came up quickly and soon I was at the sixteen-yard box. With a quick breath, I took my shot. It was crazy to see the ball sail perfectly in an arch into the left corner. Now it was 2 to 1 and there was no way they could score quickly enough to make it up.

Suck on that, Aggies.

Notes

Again, it's short, but you know fuck the Aggies.