Go for the Goal! Read Free Page B

thermoses.
    “All right, let’s play hard!” Coach Hodges shouted, clapping her hands together. “Same starting lineup as yesterday. Hustle on three.”
    Josh noticed that the team huddle was not as tight as the day before. And the shout of “One … two … three … hustle!” wasn’t as loud.
    Josh and Aidan walked onto the pitch, side by side. “It looks like you’re not the only guy who had trouble sleeping last night,” Josh said.
    Sure enough, both teams were sluggish.The action stayed stuck in the middle, with neither team managing a single shot on goal.
    Late in the first half, Evan intercepted a crossing pass and dribbled upfield. When two Thunder players charged him, he tried to slip a quick pass to Josh. But the ball hit Josh’s foot at a bad angle and sailed out of bounds.
    “Oh, no!” Josh shouted.
    The goalkeeper boomed a long punt back toward the United goal. Josh ran back to get in the action.
Man, nothing is working today,
he thought.
    The score was tied 0–0 at halftime. The sun was rising and the morning warming. People kept coming in, filling up the stands. Many of them had come early to watch the next game.
    The bigger crowd seemed to wake up the Thunder. They pounced on a turnover at midfield and sailed a crossing pass by the confused United defense. An alert Thunder forward knocked it in.
    Goal! The United trailed, 1–0.
    A few minutes later, the Thunder outhustled the United for another goal. The United was behind 2–0. Again.
    Coach Hodges put in some reserves.
    Josh and Aidan stood on the sidelines with their arms folded across their chests. “Looks like we’re going to lose another one,” Aidan said.
    “I don’t know why.” Josh dug his right cleat into the dirt. “We’ve got a lot of good players. Patrick West is a terrific goalkeeper. Victor is super fast and Mario can handle the ball.” Josh lowered his voice. “I don’t like Evan, but he can really play.”
    “Maybe we should all start wearing red shoes,” Aidan said.
    Josh didn’t laugh. “We definitely need to do something.”
    Just then Coach Hodges called out, “Josh, Aidan, go in for Dylan and Thomas.”
    Josh raced back onto the pitch, eager to do something—anything—to get the United going.
    Right away, Aidan, playing right fullback, stole the ball. He smartly dribbled awayfrom the United goal and spotted Josh on the right wing. Instantly, the two old friends sensed the same play.
    Josh spun and sprinted upfield. Aidan blasted a long pass up the right side. The Thunder scrambled after it, but Josh used his speed to outrun the defense and get the ball.
    The Thunder goalkeeper jumped out to cut down Josh’s angle to the goal. As Josh dribbled closer, he could sense the keeper hanging back, waiting for Josh to send a centering pass across the middle.
    Josh knew that a centering pass to Evan or Victor was the correct play, but with the Thunder closing in, he decided to take a chance.
It’s worth a try,
he thought.
    He tapped the ball with his left foot, then blasted it with his right. The ball sizzled by the surprised goalkeeper, grazing the post before skipping into net.
    Goal! The score was 2–1. Josh jumped up with a high fist-punch. His teammates swarmed him.
    “Way to go, Josh!”
    “We needed that!
    “We’re on a roll now!”
    But the United were not on a roll.
    The Thunder tightened their defense. There were no more goals. Not even any more shots on goal.
    The United lost 2–1.
    “We looked a little better this game. Way to go!” Coach Hodges shouted as the United players gathered their equipment and water bottles and the parents came down from the stands. “Remember, practice on Tuesday. We’ve got a lot to work on. Good goal, Josh. I’ll e-mail everyone the information about next week’s tournament.”
    “Where is it?”
    “Perryville.”
    “Perryville?” Josh’s father muttered. “That’s even farther away.”
    In no time the team had disappeared into the parking lot and behind