Have Hope

11

Y/N POV

Today was game day, and I was feeling pumped. I felt more excited than nervous, which in turn made me feel more confident.

Kick off couldn't come fast enough, and before I knew it, it was half time. Spain was playing a really rough game, trying to do anything they could to injure us without being fouled.

I've only had to make four easy saves so far, and I was feeling good. Spain got a free kick about halfway through the first half, but it was easy to block. 

The teams spirit was much higher than during the France game, and it was making us play ten times better. At the half, Jill subbed out Sonnett, Horan, and Pinoe, and put in Press, Pugh, and Davidson.

The first half was pretty tough though. Both Pinoe and Alex were firing off shots, but nothing seemed to get into the goal. Pinoe tried for a bicycle, but the Spanish goalie was some how able to bat it away. We were still confident though.

Neither team had scored any goals yet, and things were getting tense. Spain playing even more aggressive in the second half of the game, and I was worried that some of our players would get hurt.

The second half was admittedly much more stressful than the first. Spain kept pretty solid possession at first, and I had to make a sliding save as one of the Spanish players ran towards me. I knew where the ball was going, so it wasn't super difficult, but I was feeling the pressure. If I let in a single goal, we could lose.

Not even a minute later, the ball was back on their side, and Chris was speeding down the field, avoiding the enemy team. She took the shot and I didn't have time to hold my breath before one of Spain's defenders slid into goal, kicking the ball into it with her.

We were now up 1-0 on an own goal. It was only the 53rd minute of the game though, so I wasn't going to celebrate early. In the 62nd minute, a Spanish player took a fairly close shot, and I was able to react quickly enough to bat it away before she could score, my heart pounding out of my chest.

She went for a header, but I caught the ball and ran up to punt it back down the field. Chris, Alex, and Tobin were taking shot after shot, but the other teams goalie saved them each time. I had to admit, she was pretty damn good.

Another shot was fired at me in the 69th minute, which I caught, thankfully. And once again, our strikers did their best to keep the ball on Spain's side of the field.

Alex kept getting fouled for being off sides, which I made a mental note to tease her about later.

In the 83rd minute, Spain got a corner kick, and I was crowded in the box with players from both teams. Due to my height of 5'10'', I was able to jump up and catch the ball before anyone could head it in, but I did fall a little hard. I shook it off an kept playing though, knowing the game wasn't over yet.

After a few more fouls and missed shots, we won the game. Our whole team crowded the field, jumping on each other and hugging. It felt pretty fucking good, especially considering it was my second game, and I got to make some cool saves.

One after another I hugged my teammates, and the clapped me on the back, telling me words of encouragement.

"You kicked ass Y/n!" Ash said, bro hugging me.

"Thanks bro." I grinned.

Every single one of my teammates came up to hug me, and it felt euphoric. Alex was the last one, and almost everyone was starting to make their rounds to start signing jerseys for the fans.

Alex ran up to me and jumped onto me. I laughed and caught her. "Hey Lex." I said, the nickname slipping out easily. 

She grinned. "I'm so proud of you Y/n! You kicked ass today!"

"Thanks Princess, I'm proud of you too." Alex smiled and kissed my cheek dangerously close to my lips before hopping out of my arms and running over to take pictures with the fans.

I stood there, frozen, my mind not caught up to what had just happened. I pressed my fingers to my cheek, where I could still feel her warm lips.

"And she says she's straight." Ash laughed. I turned to the goalie, my eyes wide. 

"That just happened right, like I wasn't dreaming?" 

Ash snickered. "No, you weren't."

"Y/N COME TAKE PICTURES!" Pinoe yelled across the field. I looked back to Ash, who flashed me a smile.

I saluted her goodbye before running over to where Pinoe, Tobin, Christen, Kelley, and Ali were signing stuff. 

"Hey guys." I said, and immediately a ton of fans cheered.

It felt so weird having people be a fan of you. A lot of them were wearing my Jersey, and it made me feel so happy.

"Y/n will you sign my jersey?"

"Can we take a picture together?"

"Can I have your gloves?"

"You're so hot!"

"Can I have your number?"

Pinoe patted my shoulder, laughing at all the fans. "Good luck dude." And before I could protest, she and the rest of the group walked off towards the locker room. Well that's just great.

I felt overwhelmed by all the girls screaming, but I did my best to meet everyone's needs, except for giving out my number, because that girl was like 15.

It took what felt like an hour to get through everyone before I finally made it back to the locker room.

I barely even had time to shower and change because everyone was loading onto the bus. I was the last to leave the locker room, and Jill walked out to the bus with me.

"Good game today Y/n, I'm very proud of you."

I smiled, adjusting the strap on my duffle bag. "Thanks coach."

She smiled and ruffled my hair before walking over to Dawn and Mark. I loaded my bag into the luggage compartment and then got on the bus.

"Yo Y/n! How was it dealing with all those teen girls?" Pinoe asked teasingly. She was sitting next to Alex, who was laughing.

 I glared at her as I walked down the isle. "Thanks for leaving me dude. Like 8 of them asked for my number, and one of them wanted to go out with me. Someone's Mother asked me on a date."

The bus exploded with laughter while I sat down. "That's fucking awesome." Pinoe said. I chuckled, shaking my head.

"But did you say yes?" Tobs asked from a few rows up, where she was sitting with Christen. 

"Dude, she's like 20 years older than me."

"So...yes?"

I rolled my eyes. "No. She was hot though."

I saw Alex glaring at me out of the corner of my eye and I shifted my gaze to her. "What?"

"Nothing." She said, her voice emotionless as she turned to face the front. I'm not sure what that was about, but she'll talk to me if she wants too.

For now, I'm going to bask in the happiness that is this win, even though it's not technically an official game because it's only a friendly, but it still meant a lot to me.