C had a big soccer tournament north of Dayton a while ago. It was our only tournament this spring, and it was nice that it was at the end of the season and before the end of school.
The team went up, played hard and won their first game 2-0, the second game 4-1, and the third game 4-1. That put us as the "A" team in the championship game.
We played a team we beat a couple of weeks ago, handing the team its first loss of the season. They have a good team (big, physical) and a great
goalie. It was a hard-fought game and we were thrilled with the win.
In case you haven't guessed it, we played them for the championship.
The game was a good one. C had one goal get by her. It was a gorgeous kick (that was offsides but unfortunately no one called it). We scorded on a penality shot - it was an awesome shot. Both goalies did a great job and at the end of regular the score was 1-1. On to overtime (2 periods played for 10 minutes each). Once again the girls all played their hearts out. It was a physical game from start to finish, with girls on both sides going down. Both teams had shots on goal again, but at the end of BOTH overtimes the score was 1-1. On to a shoot-out.
SHOOT-OUT.
Those two words strike fear into my heart (and excitement into my darling hubby's and stepson's hearts). For those who don't know, a shoot-out pits 5 players from each team against the goalie. It's a one-on-one shot. You play until one team gets more points than the other. C had never been in a shoot-out before. I was a wreck, couldn't even describe the scene well for my dear stepson who just happened to call from work at that point for an update on the games. But I watched the scene unfold, praying the entire time!
C defends the goal first. Shot goes in. We're down 1-0.
Our player #1 shoots. Their goalie blocks it. We're down 1-0.
C defends. She blocks the shot. We're down 1-0.
Our player #2 shoots. It goes in. We're tied 1-1.
C defends. The shot goes wide of the goal. We're tied 1-1.
Our player #3 shoots. It goes in. We're up 1-2.
C defends. She blocks the shot. We're up 1-2.
Our player #4 shoots. The goalie blocks it. We're up 1-2.
C defends. She blocks the shot. We win the shoot-out 1-2.
WE WON!!!
The girls were screaming, thrilled with the victory. The parents were cheering, thrilled with the victory. I was thanking God that it went well for our team.
Truly, as stressful as it was, it was an awesome experience, especially since we won. It was hard to watch the other team leave the field quietly - they had played just as hard and their goalie had done an amazing job. Shoot-outs are a crappy way to lose because it's all luck with some skill - after 80 minutes of skillful playing by all members of the team.
The coolest part for me? Watching C and the other goalie chatting and congratulating each other after they blocked a shot during the shoot-out. THAT is sportsmanship. Very cool. Karas (C's ND idol) would have been proud of her.
The team went up, played hard and won their first game 2-0, the second game 4-1, and the third game 4-1. That put us as the "A" team in the championship game.
We played a team we beat a couple of weeks ago, handing the team its first loss of the season. They have a good team (big, physical) and a great
goalie. It was a hard-fought game and we were thrilled with the win.In case you haven't guessed it, we played them for the championship.
The game was a good one. C had one goal get by her. It was a gorgeous kick (that was offsides but unfortunately no one called it). We scorded on a penality shot - it was an awesome shot. Both goalies did a great job and at the end of regular the score was 1-1. On to overtime (2 periods played for 10 minutes each). Once again the girls all played their hearts out. It was a physical game from start to finish, with girls on both sides going down. Both teams had shots on goal again, but at the end of BOTH overtimes the score was 1-1. On to a shoot-out.
SHOOT-OUT.
Those two words strike fear into my heart (and excitement into my darling hubby's and stepson's hearts). For those who don't know, a shoot-out pits 5 players from each team against the goalie. It's a one-on-one shot. You play until one team gets more points than the other. C had never been in a shoot-out before. I was a wreck, couldn't even describe the scene well for my dear stepson who just happened to call from work at that point for an update on the games. But I watched the scene unfold, praying the entire time!
C defends the goal first. Shot goes in. We're down 1-0.
Our player #1 shoots. Their goalie blocks it. We're down 1-0.
C defends. She blocks the shot. We're down 1-0.
Our player #2 shoots. It goes in. We're tied 1-1.
C defends. The shot goes wide of the goal. We're tied 1-1.
Our player #3 shoots. It goes in. We're up 1-2.
C defends. She blocks the shot. We're up 1-2.
Our player #4 shoots. The goalie blocks it. We're up 1-2.
C defends. She blocks the shot. We win the shoot-out 1-2.
WE WON!!!
The girls were screaming, thrilled with the victory. The parents were cheering, thrilled with the victory. I was thanking God that it went well for our team.
Truly, as stressful as it was, it was an awesome experience, especially since we won. It was hard to watch the other team leave the field quietly - they had played just as hard and their goalie had done an amazing job. Shoot-outs are a crappy way to lose because it's all luck with some skill - after 80 minutes of skillful playing by all members of the team.
The coolest part for me? Watching C and the other goalie chatting and congratulating each other after they blocked a shot during the shoot-out. THAT is sportsmanship. Very cool. Karas (C's ND idol) would have been proud of her.
1 comment:
Congrats!
See, soccer looks fun from your angle :)
That is an awesome story.
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