Finally it was the moment we had long been awaiting all season. We trained hard. We fought for the spot. Now all eyes were on us. We either proved ourselves of humiliated ourselves… No pressure

Sitting in the locker room we never spoke. Just occasional glances at each other. In a few minutes we’d face the other team. The other school. The only thing that stood between us and victory.

Now we were standing out there, on the field. Our school cheered. Their applause was empowering… Adrenaline. The smell of the grass made me feel light and empty. The other team’s presence made my stomach churn.

Sometimes I wondered if all this was worth our blood, sweat and tears. “It’s just a game”, my mother laughed. “No”, I corrected her, “Mom it’s the game.”

“Heads or tails?” the Referee asked. “Heads” I replied, my glare never leaving the other coach. After flipping the coin he backed away and told us, “Tails”. The other girl smirked. She was confident. It felt like a knife to my stomach, but I endured.

The second the whistle blew, the ball was flying. They were good. That only made us play tougher. I fought for this, for way too long. I was not about to lose this.

There were five minutes left. It was tie. I frantically scanned the field. My teammates were tired, sweating, losing momentum… Did they even want this anymore? I ran off to the ball and Katie passed it to me. I dribbled off… Everyone was after me, but I was fast. Two minutes left… At the goal I nervously kicked the ball. I felt as if my heart was beating my throat. Then… the ball flew in!!!

The whistle blew three times. The game was over! Tears streamed down my face. Before I could take a breath I was immediately knocked over by the other girls. “You’re amazing!!” Katie shouted with a chuckle. Then we got into a huge group hug that knocked my breath out of my lungs,

“You did it!”, my mother smiled later that night. “No mom”, I corrected her, “We did it!”