Lacrosse Face-Off by Matt Christopher

Author:Matt Christopher [CHRISTOPHER, MATTHEW F]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780316093934
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: 2009-12-19T05:00:00+00:00

9

Play started up again. Carl managed to clamp the ball during the face-off, but when he tried to send it to a teammate it rolled free and a Panther scooped it up.

The Panthers quickly penetrated past the Rockets midfielders. Then an attacker bobbled the ball. Evan scooped it up right from in front of the Rockets goal and cleared it out to Jeff, who was dancing along the sideline.

It was a soft throw. Jeff had to lunge with his stick outstretched, pocket skyward, to make the catch. Once he had the ball, he swung the stick, head up high, and made a beeline for the opposite end of the field. As he ran he moved his stick to his right hand, twisting it in a perfect one-handed cradle, and held off a Panther with the other. A few steps later he stopped short, put his free hand on the stick, and jerked a quick pass to Todd.

Garry squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them again, he was amazed to see that his brother had made the catch and was running toward the goal. Unfortunately, Todd must have forgotten to cradle the ball. After a few steps the ball flew out of the pocket and bounced onto the field toward a Panthers midfielder's feet.

The Panther scooped it up and hurled it to where his teammate waited at the sideline. Three quick passes and one shot on goal later, the Panthers had added another point to their side of the scoreboard.

Garry clenched his teeth to keep himself from yelling. Michael threw up his hands and shook his head, plainly disgusted. Others on the bench grumbled and shifted in their seats.

As Todd, Carl, and Jeff returned to the midfield for the face-off, Coach Hasbrouck called for a time-out. Then he gestured for Todd to come to the sideline.

“At last,” Garry heard Michael mutter. The older boy stood up, grabbed his stick, and prepared to run onto the field at the coach's signal.

But Coach Hasbrouck didn't pull Todd from the game. Instead, he spoke to the boy while demonstrating something with Todd's stick. Todd frowned at first, then nodded his understanding.

What is going on? Garry wondered. He found out a moment later. When the ref blew his whistle to restart play, Todd rushed onto the field—and right to the center, for the face-off.

Michael sagged back onto the bench. “You have got to be kidding me,” he said.

Garry didn't say anything, but inside he was thinking the same thing. Todd, taking the face-off? Is the coach out of his mind?

It came as no surprise to Garry that Todd didn't win the stick war. What did surprise him was what Todd did next. As the Panthers attacker sent the ball to his teammate, Todd lowered a shoulder and bodychecked him. Unfortunately, by the time he hit the Panther, the attacker no longer had the ball. And Todd's shoulder struck him in the small of the back.

The whistle shrieked. “One-minute penalty, illegal checking!” the ref yelled, pointing at Todd.

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