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Post by Jessica Reilly on Nov 4, 2009 23:41:47 GMT -5
"Mal, I'm open!" Jessie's long legs booked it down the field, her cleats using the deep grass for friction. She felt her long blond hair, pulled up carelessly in a messy bun bouncing as she ran. She was sweaty as it was nearing the end of practice. She took the pass from Mal and did a tricky spin, going completely around the surprised defender. She kept both pale blue eyes on Becky as she neared the net. Her foot went back and then forward, catching the ball neatly against the laces and sending it in a spiral towards the net.
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Post by Mallory Johnson on Nov 4, 2009 23:45:37 GMT -5
Mal ran down the field after having gotten the ball from Holly. She heard, "Mal, I'm open" from Jessie and sent an easy but sharp pass right to the freshman's foot. Mal continued her jog towards the net, one eye on Jessie, and the other on Becky. Mal saw Jessie's foot inch back and saw her nod ever so subtly. That was the cue for them to try out their new plan. The Reilly's lived in the house behind Mal on Orchard Drive and the two backyards were separated by simply a chain link fence that is very easily jumped so the two girls often had soccer practices and were sometimes joined by Becky but since Becky was a goalie she didn't need to do those kinds of drills.
Mal charged towards Jessie and waited until Jessie's foot was at the right angle. Then Jessie backed off in one fluid step and Mal took the shot.
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Post by Rebecca Dawes on Nov 4, 2009 23:54:14 GMT -5
Becky was on her toes. She kept her slate blue eyes on the black and white soccer ball as it approached. First the second string goalie, Melody, had it at the other end of the field, wearing a blue pinny over the team's usual practice jersey. Then Holly had it and then Mal had it. Once Mal had it at her feet, Becky really began paying attention.
The ball moved rapidly across the field to Jessie. Becky had to admit that a few months ago at the beginning of the school year, she had had her doubts about Coach Gibson allowing a freshman on the starting roster...even though she had been starting goalie since her freshman year, but she knew why the decision had been made. The girl had skill. She tensed, preparing for the shot. Then, out of the blue, Mal was the one taking the shot and Becky had to spin towards her left and dive all in one move. Her fingertips grazed the ball, making it hit the post and bounce back towards Jessie and Mal.
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Post by Jessica Reilly on Nov 4, 2009 23:58:21 GMT -5
Jessie's eyes widened at the amazing save by Becky. What was even more impressive was that the girl was back on her feet in seconds. Jessie snagged the ball with her left foot and did a shuffle step while running to the side of the field to shift the ball to the possession of her right foot. Once she was out of range of Becky, she paused, her foot on top of the ball, scanning her surroundings. A few defenders were baring down on her and Mal was covered. Then Holly came up behind her. Jessie passed the ball back to Holly and did an overlap of Mal, going to the opposite far corner near the post that Becky was covering less of. She waved her arms above her head as a signal for Holly.
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Post by Rebecca Dawes on Nov 5, 2009 0:01:34 GMT -5
Becky was on her feet as soon as she had landed. She didn't bother to dust the caked dirt from her uniform; she knew there would be more before the end of the scrimmage. She reached up and pushed back a bunch of hair that had come free from its stretched elastic. Now her keen eyes were trained on Holly who had possession. She noticed Jessie make a run for the back post but knew that if she tried to cover that, Holly could easily just shoot the ball from where she was standing and have a good chance of scoring. Staying on her toes, she waited for the inevitable pass.
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Post by Mallory Johnson on Nov 5, 2009 0:05:27 GMT -5
Mal was being covered by two defenders. She sprinted around them only to be met by two more. Since they were split into two teams with a mix of first stringers and second stringers from their own team, the girls all knew each other and knew who everyone liked to pass to. Hence, they covered Mal when either Holly or Jessie had the ball, and vice versa.
Finally, Holly did a little siscor trick with the ball and found some open ground to pass to the wide open Jessie. However, the two girls defending Mal saw the ball heading for Jessie and left Mal's side.
Mal took this oppurtunity to dart towards the ball and intercept it mid-air, heading it towards the lower corner of the net.
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Post by Rebecca Dawes on Nov 5, 2009 0:08:42 GMT -5
Becky saw Mal start to head the ball. She waited until she couldn't wait any longer; then she guessed a direction. Luckily she picked the right direction and scooped the ball cleanly from the air before it could sail past her for a goal. Tucking the ball under one arm she jogged towards the 18 (its a marked line...if you didn't know lol), calling encouragement to her current team members. "Come on girls, offense now!"
She punted the ball to a little over half field and then back pedaled until she was in the safety of her goal. Taking a few steps back out of the net, she leaned forward, resting her gloved hands on her knees. She kept both eyes on the action.
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Post by Maggie Russell on Nov 5, 2009 0:16:20 GMT -5
Maggie was sitting on the cold bleachers next to Liam and behind Marcus. She raised an eyebrow at the constant activity. "Wow, they really are good" she observed. She knew that their team, the Saint-James Pirates, were ranked in the top five in the state of Michigan, but she'd never seen them in action and they were doing fantastically. She elbowed Liam. "You're girlfriend is really good!"
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Post by Sammi Miller on Nov 5, 2009 0:19:23 GMT -5
Sammi entered the soccer fields from the back entrance and leaned up against the fence, watching her friends. She had been about to sit with Liam and Marcus when she saw the third member of their party and had decided against it. "Woooo go Mal" she cheered. "Nice save Becks! Good footwork Jess!" She clapped her hands together enthusiastically, unaware how ridiculous she looked.
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Post by Marcus Fletcher on Nov 5, 2009 0:24:15 GMT -5
Marcus took a gulp from his can of rootbeer and loved how the caffeine coursed through him. He twisted around in his seat when Maggie was speaking. He still didn't know why she wouldn't go out with him...well other than he had a girlfriend already and she thouht he was a jerk.
"She's got a point, man. Did you see that save?!" He turned to face front again when Sammi's distinctive voice reached their ears. He supressed a laugh. "I'll go get her."
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Post by Maggie Russell on Nov 5, 2009 0:43:49 GMT -5
Maggie snorted. "No, Marcus, leave her." She reached out and grabbed Marcus by the back of his jacket. "She's not doing anything harmful. Just amusing." She propped her chin on her fists and proceeded to watch Sammi continue her shouts until Coach Gibson went over to talk to her. Maggie couldn't hear what words were exchanged, but when the two broke apart, Sammi was flushing and she was oddly quiet after that. "Aw darn, show's over." Maggie shrugged and turned her focus back to the scrimmage. The ball had gone up and down the field several more times, neither team scoring yet. So it was still 1-0, Becky's team winning.
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Post by Sammi Miller on Nov 5, 2009 0:48:55 GMT -5
Sammi watched eagerly as the ball nearly went in on the far end of the field, but was stopped by Melody at the last second. She was pretty good for a second string senior who had been on the bench since her sophomore year. Now the ball came back towards Becky on Mal's feet. "Yeah Mal! Work it, girl! You can do it!"
Sammi finished up her shouts of encouragement just as the ball sailed over the top of the net, no where near going in. Mal gave Sammi a half amused, half irritated look and jogged backwards towards the halfway line to try and intercept Becky's goal kick.
It was then that Coach Gibson came over and said in a low voice, fingering his whistle, "Miller, you are very helpful to us at games, but this is a practice and I need my girls focused. So please go sit in the stands like every other normal person."
Sammi flushed and trudged over to an open seat, keeping her mouth shut.
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Post by Liam Grayson on Nov 5, 2009 11:41:18 GMT -5
"Yup.. well what can I say, to her soccer is like an heart." Liam said with a smile as he kept looking at Becky, cheering her up. Liam loved her a lot, plus she was a good soccer player. He would always support her, that's for sure. He just kept looking, cheering at her again. He knew she wouldn't be distracted because of him, after all soccer is her life. Liam soon looked at the spectators. He saw someone odd, pretty much, sun glasses on, a hood on, his face pretty much hidden because of the hood. "Who is that guy or girl ?"
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Post by Thomas Alverton on Nov 5, 2009 11:45:19 GMT -5
Thomas just stared at the game, a weird view with his sun glasses, his hood was hiding his face and he was looking at Holly, her striking resemblance to his dead girlfriend just made him sad. Though that didn't stop him from watching the games, making sure everything was alright. Thomas felt the need to protect her, he didn't want another member of the family dead, he already blames himself even though he wasn't there when Sirena died. Thomas just looked at Holly, remaining silent, he hoped no one would notice him and try to talk to him.
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Post by Maggie Russell on Nov 5, 2009 16:16:55 GMT -5
Maggie leaned forward a bit, keeping her hands on the bleachers so she wouldn't fall off, and studied the guy that Liam had pointed out. "Isn't that...that Tom guy?" she said after a moment of thought. People had been gossipping about him for a few months now. His girlfriend had died and he was pretty much a walking add for depression. She nudged Marcus in the back with one foot. "Go talk to him. You're semi-friends with him, right?"
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