Soccer Team Upset by Fred Bowen

Author:Fred Bowen [Bowen, Fred]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-4804-4305-1
Publisher: Peachtree Publishers
Published: 2009-05-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

Tyler woke quickly and pulled on his uniform. He was wide awake and pumped: It was game day!

He hurried downstairs and grabbed some leftover pepperoni pizza from the refrigerator. His father was at the kitchen table, eating a bagel and looking at the screen on his laptop.

Tyler sat across from him.

“What are you eating?” his father said.

“Pizza,” Tyler said, taking a bite.

“Cold?”

“Yeah, it’s good,” said Tyler as he chewed.

Tyler’s dad rolled his eyes and looked back at his computer screen. “Zack’s team won last night,” he said, scrolling down. “Listen to this: ‘Zack Bell put the Panthers ahead to stay when he blasted a shot into the goal late in the first half.’” Then Tyler’s dad looked up. “Have you seen Zack lately?”

“Mario and I practiced with his team this week,” Tyler said as he got up to get some milk from the refrigerator. “They’re good, but they’re not that good. Coach Wexler even asked Mario and me if we wanted to join the team.”

“Really? That’s great. What did you tell him?”

“I said no, I wanted to stay with my team.”

“I see. How does Zack like the team?” Mr. Davis asked.

“Okay, I guess,” Tyler answered. He looked in the dishwasher for a glass. “Dad, is the stuff in here clean?”

“Yeah, we ran the dishwasher last night. So how are the kids on the team? Nice?”

“They’re okay, but Zack says they really just get together for games.”

“Doesn’t seem like a real team, then.”

“Yeah, that’s what I think,” Tyler said. He poured the milk into a glass and sat back down at the table. “And I like being on the Cougars. I think we’re going to get a lot better.”

Tyler’s father closed his laptop. “Who are you guys playing today?” he asked.

“The Titans,” Tyler said. He gulped down the whole glass of milk and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

“Are they any good?”

“We pounded them 4–0 last year,” Tyler said. “But that was last year.”

“So how do you like playing midfield?”

“It’s good. I’m in the middle of all the action,” Tyler said, glancing at the clock. “We’d better get going,” he said. “Coach likes us there early.”

“Let me finish eating,” his father said, grabbing his bagel. “How are the new kids working out?”

“Great. Gavin’s super fast and he has some really smooth moves. And the other kids are getting better.”

“Well, you must be getting better, too,” his dad said. “You’re practicing almost every day.”

“I guess we’ll find out today,” Tyler said. “Come on, Dad. Let’s go.”

An hour later, Coach Murray gave the Cougars her final instructions. “Don’t bunch up, guys. Let’s try to get the ball to Tyler in the middle. Gavin, Mario, and Josh, give him somebody to pass to.” She looked over the boys’ heads to the referee blowing his whistle in the middle of the sun-drenched field. “Okay, Cougars, let’s play hard and keep hustling.”

The Cougars played hard, but couldn’t make much happen. They started slowly with sloppy plays and passes. Near the end of

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