Have Hope

40

Y/N POV

Our team started off with the ball first, holding possession on the Netherlands side for the first ten minutes. 

Nothing two crazy happened, other than a yellow card being awarded to the opposing team after one of them fouled Rose. 

Things started to pick up after our team took a penalty kick, despite no goal being awarded, and that's when I found myself having to leap into action to stop a long shot taken from mid-field, narrowly avoiding the feet of a Dutch player and Becky, who came ripping past me.

Our offense once again gained possession, holding the ball on the other side of the field as Pinoe tried for multiple shots and cross passes that just couldn't make it in.

The Netherlands were certainly no easy opponent, but we went into this game knowing it would be a fight against one of the best teams in the world. We prepared for this, and we weren't going to back down easily.

Rose went for a side shot at the 16th minute, but the Dutch goalie saw it coming from a mile away, easily jumping in front of the ball before one of our other players had a chance to reach it.

Soon after that, Pinoe was racing up the left side of the field when she was knocked down by a defender, but of course, the Ref was fucking blind and chose not to call a penalty, much to our forward's anger.

As I watched the event from in goal, I just couldn't believe how well the Dutch goalkeeper was playing. That woman was a brick wall, blocking every shot thrown at her by our offense. 

In the 25th minute, a Netherlands player broke free from our defense and charged the goal, the ball a mere five feet from her feet. Just before she had the chance to take the shot, I ran to the edge of the box and fired off a kick, launching it back to the other side of the field.

Every single save mattered in this game because it was becoming increasingly obvious that our normal tactics used in our other games wouldn't be as effective. This would not be a thirteen goal win.

My team continued to fire off shots and execute passes to one another in the box, but it was no use; the defending team was just too good.

By the looks on my friends faces, it was easy to tell they were getting frustrated, and if someone didn't score soon, our chances of winning could decrease significantly. On the other hand, we still had a whole other half to worry about.

In the 36th minute, I watched in anger as Alex was shoved down by a player in orange. Thankfully she got up and was well enough to argue with the ref, making me smile a little, and the game continued. 

Around the 41st minute mark, Abby and Becky were chasing a Netherlands forward down the field when Abby earned a yellow card for tripping her. The call sort of seemed like bullshit to me, especially after seeing Pinoe and Alex get fouled, but not have the calls for them made. 

That penalty gave the Dutch a free kick, which was no where near close to even getting into the goal. 

In the 44th minute, Alex clashed with two opposing players, and from what it looked like, it was definitely a hard hit. Once again though, my girlfriend didn't hesitate to pull herself back up and argue with the ref, and I sighed in relief, glad to see she was okay.

The action didn't stop there, though. Not even a full minute later, Kelley collided heads with an orange offender, effectively stopping the game as both team's medical staff rushed onto the field. Scrapes and bruises were one thing, but head injuries were on a whole other level of serious. 

Tobin and Rose were crouched by Kelley while Dawn and Erica went to work, checking her vision and reflexes, trying to estimate the damage. I wish I could have run over there to check on my friend, but I knew I couldn't.

All I could do was hope that Kelley was okay.

I watched, worried, as the freckled woman hobbled off the field, Dawn and Erica supporting her. I had a feeling she wouldn't be returning for the rest of the game. 

We had two minutes of stoppage time, and I ended up having to make quite a few more saves in the last few minutes of the first half. 

Going into half time with the scored tied 0-0 and down one of our most valuable defenders was definitely difficult, and a big hit to our confidence, but as always, Jill and the captains did their best to get everyone pumped up and motivated again.

By the time the second half started, the team had been rejuvenated, and we played even more ferociously than before, stopping at nothing until we scored.

In the 53rd minute, Becky was struck in the face, whether it was by the ball, or the head of a Dutch player, I couldn't tell, but either way, the blood streaming down her face from a cut on her eyebrow was proof enough that something had happened. 

Becky, being the fucking badass bitch she is, marched off the field, a tissue to her face, obviously not done playing yet. She couldn't have been gone for more than two minutes before returning, her head now bandaged, getting back to her position. Now if that's no dedication, strength, and bravery, I don't know what is.

If I thought the first half had been stressful, the second was quickly proving to be even more so. It was in the 58th minute when a high kick from a Dutch player lead to my girlfriend crashing to the ground. For a moment I was worried that it would be our third head injury of the game. Thankfully though, it was clear she had pulled more of a cheeky flop than anything, which landed us a penalty kick. 

Pinoe took it, taking a deep breath as she stared down the Netherlands keeper. The whole stadium seemed to grow quiet, fans from both sides holding their breath.

In the blink of an eye the ball flew past the goal line and hit the back of the net, causing everyone to go wild. Pinoe ran to the sideline and posed, Alex and Sam jumping onto her shoulders.

That goal was what we had been desperately needing all match, and it served as a reminder that we were still in this. While there was still at least 30 minutes to go, that small victory helped solidify our teams excitement, and motivation to keep pushing forward and win the gold.

Unfortunately, it seemed to have the same effect on our opponents, who increased their aggression and eagerness to score, forcing our backline to fight hard to keep the ball out of our goal.

Luckily, in the 69th minute, Rose managed to break free from the Dutch defense, charging right down the center of the field, the ball at her feet. She took her shot from the edge of the penalty box, the ball flying right past the head of the Netherlands goalie, bringing our score up from 1-0 to 2-0.

Seeing my teammates celebrate with the young (but still older than me) midfielder as she scored her first goal in a World Cup final game nearly brought me to tears. It wasn't over yet, though. 

Both teams continued to play ruthlessly for the remaining minutes, and all I could think about was not letting in a single goal. Despite the Dutch's urgency to score, their goalkeeper certainly seemed to be saving a lot more shots than I did.

In the 79th minute, Abby earned another foul on a bullshit call from the Ref, giving the other team a free kick, which, once again, wasn't anywhere close to making it into the goal.

Five minutes of stoppage time were awarded, but even that wasn't enough to give the Dutch a single goal.

The final whistle was blown at the 95th minute mark, and that's when I realized we did it. 

We had won the World Cup.