Top of Her Game by M. Ullrich

Author:M. Ullrich [Ullrich, M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781635555011
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2019-09-04T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two

The Hurricanes had no problems when they faced New York, but they wished they could have said the same when they played Chicago ten days later. Every player seemed sluggish on the field, and the Chicago Cyclones were anything but. Their defense was like a brick wall, and their offense moved so seamlessly, Sutton could barely keep up. Each team had one point, and the clock was winding down to the final ten minutes. A player for the Cyclones went down hard, giving them a break to hydrate and regroup. Sutton waited for her whole team to enter the huddle before talking.

“We can do this. I know we can, and you all believe it, too. Shaw, what have you noticed about their defense?”

Kenzie stared at her with a mouth full of water. She shook her head and swallowed. “They’re using a two person attack every time we get close. It’s hard to get around two players like that.”

Sutton nodded as she processed the information. “Taylor, I want you on Kenzie’s tail. One, no more than two steps behind her.”

“That’s not the usual formation.”

“I know,” Sutton said firmly. “They’re expecting the usual formation, and we have to work around that. Stay close behind and hopefully we’ll be able to create an opportunity. As far as the rest of the back line, I’ll push forward but you all hang back. The last thing we need is to be unguarded.”

Lacey perked up and slapped her thick gloves together. “I’m ready if that happens.”

The referee blew the whistle, signaling for gameplay to continue.

Sutton tossed her water bottle to Jon, the new assistant trainer, and he fumbled it a bit. “Let’s do this.”

The Hurricanes charged back out to the field, and Sutton watched as they all fell into place. As soon as the ball started moving toward the opposing goal, Taylor ran up behind Kenzie, and the Cyclones’ defensive line stuttered for the first time the entire game. When they’d start to gang up on Kenzie, Kenzie would drop the ball back to Taylor, who’d have enough space to advance.

They worked together three times, each time getting closer and closer to the goal. Sutton ran up the field during their next push, hoping to distract the opposing players just enough to create an open lane for Kenzie to take a shot, and she did. Sutton followed the ball as it soared through the air and bent into the corner of the goal at the last second. The shot was flawless, but Chicago’s goalkeeper got her fist on it and sent it flying out of bounds.

Sutton looked at the clock and hoped they could use the extra three minutes of stoppage time to secure a winning goal. Ending the game with a draw wouldn’t be terrible, but she wanted the win on the road. She stayed to the far end of the box and took a deep breath.

Chiara set up to take the corner shot. She spun the ball between her hands and set it right on the white line.

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