sway.
“You play soccer for this team?”
“Yeah. I’m surprised to see you, too. You didn’t tell me you played.”
“I play with my brother Sam, actually this is his team.”
“You must be good if you’re playing in this division.”
“Not really, he just needed another female.”
“What position do you play?”
“Forward. You?”
“I usually play halfback.”
“Well, good luck,” she said, turning to walk back to her side of the field.
“Yeah. You, too.”
The referees had arrived and had taken their positions on the field. Reye lined up against the left defender on Stephen’s team. She overheard someone mention that the defender’s name was Frank. Stephen would play right defender. Scoring against Frank was like taking candy from a baby. She was much more skilled than he, and faster, quickly scoring two goals for her team.
Sam’s strategy was different for each game, depending on the information garnered from his scouting expedi tions. Today he wanted Reye to play forward against the weaker defender and score. In most games, this was an effective strategy as most men usually underestimated h er, to their misfortune, of course. She would get one or two goals before they recognized the mismatch and changed their line-up. Today wasn’t any different. She scored for the second time a minute before the first half ended. They were up by two at the half and it was now time for Sam’s usual halftime speech.
Changes and adjustments were made for the second half of the game. Sam expected Stephen’s team to correct the mismatch and play their better defender against Reye. To counter this, Sam would move up to the front to play in the forward position opposite Reye. He and Reye played well together. They’d been playing together since grade school. They’d played against their older brothers, who’d picked on them. Learning to play together had been a matter of survival.
The second half started. As predicted, Stephen moved to play defender against Reye.
“Think you can keep up?” she asked as she stood in position.
“I won’t need to. You seem the type who quits when things get tough.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” she asked him. He shrugged, and the whistle blew starting the second half. The ball was passed to Reye, who received it and began to move down the field. Stephen stood away from her, taking time and space to watch her commit to a direc tion. She ran towards him and he stepped up to block the ball, stopping her momentum, kicking the ball out of bounds.
“What, you can’t get by me?”
“Watch me,” she said.
She received the ball again and moved it downfield. Stephen stepped to her and she switched the ball to her other foot and ran by him. He was quick and able to catch her, but not before she passed it off to Sam, who took a shot on goal. The goalie watched it fall into his hands. Reye walked back to her position and play resumed. The ball was passed to Reye again, this time Stephen leaned in with his shoulder and interrupted her drive. He swept in front of her, aligning his back to her front, taking the ball away, kicking it out of bounds again. Reye and Stephen played tough, demanding soccer, in their own world for the remainder of the game. They pushed, shoved, ran, and fell over each other, one driving to score, the other determined to prevent it. Stephen’s team was able to pull out the win, because Sam’s strategy had left them weak in the defender posi tion and Stephen’s team had taken advantage. They scored three times in the second half to win the game.
Both teams walked over to their benches to drink water and change out of their cleats. Sam walked over to Reye. “So what’s going on between you and the defender?”
She was seated on the bench removing her cleats, and looked up sharply at his question. “Nothing. Why?”
“Just wondering, you two were all alone on the field. We all noticed,” Sam said. He moved his head and hands to include
“You play soccer for this team?”
“Yeah. I’m surprised to see you, too. You didn’t tell me you played.”
“I play with my brother Sam, actually this is his team.”
“You must be good if you’re playing in this division.”
“Not really, he just needed another female.”
“What position do you play?”
“Forward. You?”
“I usually play halfback.”
“Well, good luck,” she said, turning to walk back to her side of the field.
“Yeah. You, too.”
The referees had arrived and had taken their positions on the field. Reye lined up against the left defender on Stephen’s team. She overheard someone mention that the defender’s name was Frank. Stephen would play right defender. Scoring against Frank was like taking candy from a baby. She was much more skilled than he, and faster, quickly scoring two goals for her team.
Sam’s strategy was different for each game, depending on the information garnered from his scouting expedi tions. Today he wanted Reye to play forward against the weaker defender and score. In most games, this was an effective strategy as most men usually underestimated h er, to their misfortune, of course. She would get one or two goals before they recognized the mismatch and changed their line-up. Today wasn’t any different. She scored for the second time a minute before the first half ended. They were up by two at the half and it was now time for Sam’s usual halftime speech.
Changes and adjustments were made for the second half of the game. Sam expected Stephen’s team to correct the mismatch and play their better defender against Reye. To counter this, Sam would move up to the front to play in the forward position opposite Reye. He and Reye played well together. They’d been playing together since grade school. They’d played against their older brothers, who’d picked on them. Learning to play together had been a matter of survival.
The second half started. As predicted, Stephen moved to play defender against Reye.
“Think you can keep up?” she asked as she stood in position.
“I won’t need to. You seem the type who quits when things get tough.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” she asked him. He shrugged, and the whistle blew starting the second half. The ball was passed to Reye, who received it and began to move down the field. Stephen stood away from her, taking time and space to watch her commit to a direc tion. She ran towards him and he stepped up to block the ball, stopping her momentum, kicking the ball out of bounds.
“What, you can’t get by me?”
“Watch me,” she said.
She received the ball again and moved it downfield. Stephen stepped to her and she switched the ball to her other foot and ran by him. He was quick and able to catch her, but not before she passed it off to Sam, who took a shot on goal. The goalie watched it fall into his hands. Reye walked back to her position and play resumed. The ball was passed to Reye again, this time Stephen leaned in with his shoulder and interrupted her drive. He swept in front of her, aligning his back to her front, taking the ball away, kicking it out of bounds again. Reye and Stephen played tough, demanding soccer, in their own world for the remainder of the game. They pushed, shoved, ran, and fell over each other, one driving to score, the other determined to prevent it. Stephen’s team was able to pull out the win, because Sam’s strategy had left them weak in the defender posi tion and Stephen’s team had taken advantage. They scored three times in the second half to win the game.
Both teams walked over to their benches to drink water and change out of their cleats. Sam walked over to Reye. “So what’s going on between you and the defender?”
She was seated on the bench removing her cleats, and looked up sharply at his question. “Nothing. Why?”
“Just wondering, you two were all alone on the field. We all noticed,” Sam said. He moved his head and hands to include
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