CHASING GOLD: The Olympics

Chapter 2

Andy watched her mom's race down the field. It was the 43rd minute and the score was still tied at 0. This wouldn't be the case for long though, as Tobin megged her defender and passed the ball right to a streaking Alex who timed it perfectly and placed it into the back of the net. Alex ran to her fiancé and jumped into her arms. Tobin held Alex as their teammates came rushing to them to celebrate. They walked back to their positions and the ball was placed in the middle of the circle. It was Portland 1 - Courage 0. About 3 minutes later, the halftime whistle blew and the teams headed into the locker rooms.

Mark got Andy's attention and she walked over to him as they walked down the tunnel. Andy saw her moms in front of them so they hopefully wouldn't suspect a thing. "So kid. What are you thinking?" He asked her.

"I feel good coach. I really do. Better than I have in a long time." Andy said smiling. He nodded.

"Ok. Let's get you in around the 65th minute then." He said. Andy smiled brightly.

"Thank you so much, coach," Andy said. "Can I ask something though?" Mark nodded. "Can someone bring my cleats and shin guards out? I want to surprise my moms by going in when I do." Andy explained. Mark nodded and smiled.

"That sounds good to me." He said. "I'll have Jeff bring them out with us." The two shared a smile and headed into the locker room. The team talked about the first half and before they knew it, they were heading back out onto the field.

Andy walked beside her moms. She admired them and smiled. She hoped in 20 minutes, they would be surprised with Andy finally being able to make her debut after 9 long months.

*****

It was the 60th minute and Jeff came over to Andy. She had been stretching in her regular shoes earlier. He handed her her cleats and shin guards. She smiled and thanked him and started to get ready. She took a deep breath as Mark walked over to her. "Alright. It's go time." He said. "Time for your debut." Andy smiled brightly at him. "You'll be going in for Andressinha." Andy nodded. "Your moms will still be in the game. I don't plan on taking them out unless I absolutely need to."

"Sounds good coach." Andy said. The two looked up at the time.

"Alright. Get up there." Mark said. Andy nodded and pulled her sub pinnie off. She grabbed the card and handed it to the 4th official as she walked up to midfield. The ball rolled out of play and Andy watched her moms jog back to different spots totally unaware of what was about to happen.

The 4th official raised the board and the ref blew her whistle. Andy looked up at the board. It had a red 8 and a green 77. She focused back on the field. Tobin and Alex turned towards the sidelines to see what the subs were and the two froze in shock. Tobin turned towards Alex and they shared a look. They walked over to the sidelines with Andressinha. Andressinha walked up to Andy and patted her on her back. Andy patted the left side of her chest and pointed to the sky and did a little jump on the field. Just like her mom. The stadium erupted as the young Heath was finally making her debut. Tobin stared at her daughter in disbelief. "Surprise." Andy said to her moms. The Courage were doing subs too so the little family felt they had some time to talk.

"You weren't going to tell us?" Alex asked. She wasn't mad though as her smile brightly shined. Andy smiled.

"I wanted it to be a surprise. Especially since I didn't know how I'd feel." Andy explained. Andy turned to Tobin. Tobin only smiled. "Hey, mom." Andy said smiling. Tobin didn't respond. All she did was pull her daughter into a big hug. Alex joined the two. The stadium seemed to get louder as they witnessed the little family's moment.

"Congrats kiddo." Tobin whispered so only the three of them could hear. Alex nodded not being able to form any more words.

"Thanks, moms." Andy said. They pulled away and noticed that the subs were finished up and the throw-in was about to happen. The three jogged to their spots. None of them could believe what was happening.

*****

It was the 84th minute and Andy passed the ball up to Alex. Alex stopped the ball and passed to the center to Lindsey. Lindsey pulled back and passed to Ellie Carpenter. Ellie passed over to Sonnett. Sonnett passed up to Tobin who rushed down the field. She looked up to see Sinc and Alex running their routes, Lindsey and Andy not far behind. Tobin reached the end line and stopped the ball. Tobin pulled her leg back and lofted the ball up.

Andy watched in slow motion as her mom ran up the field and reached the end line. She watched the ball get lofted into the air. Lindsey jumped up but couldn't reach it and soon the realization hit Andy that the ball was coming right to her. She timed her run and pulled her leg back. She felt the ball connect with her foot and watched as it redirected towards the goal. She watched as the keeper stretched out but couldn't get a touch on the ball. And finally, she watched as the ball sailed into the goal and hit the net. Providence Park erupted. She barely had to time realize what just happened when several players collided into her. But this time, in a good way. She brought herself back to reality and felt her teammates surrounding her. "Way to go Andy!" Lindsey yelled and hugged her.

"Let's fucking goooo!!" Sonnett yelled jumping on her back.

"Congrats kid!" Sinc yelled giving her a pat on the back and messing her hair up. Andy smiled as her teammates each congratulated her and gave her the ball. She was left with Alex who scooped her up into a big hug.

"Nice finish kid." Alex said smiling.

"Thanks, mama." Andy said a big smile on her face.

"You've got one more person waiting." Alex said looking behind Andy. Andy smiled and turned around. Tobin stared at her daughter with her hands on her hips. Her megawatt smile was displayed on her face. Andy copied her stance and expression. Alex laughed at the two. She couldn't take it any longer and jumped into her mom's arms.

Tobin held her daughter tightly. "I'm so proud of you baby girl," Tobin whispered to Andy. "Welcome back kid."

"Thank you, mom." Andy said. Tobin put her daughter down and the two walked back to their spots on the field. 2-0.

It hadn't even been 3 minutes and the Thorns were racing down the field again. Tobin raced through the middle of the field, as Lindsey had been taken down, and collected the ball. Sinc and Alex were running with her. Andy was near the right corner, open, and Tobin passed her daughter the ball. Andy picked her head up and noticed Alex and Sinc making their runs. She lofted the ball up and Alex placed the ball into the back of the net with her head. The Thorns were once again celebrating. Alex ran to her daughter and jumped into her arms. Tobin collided into them and they celebrated the connection the Morgan-Heath family just made. The three wouldn't know it until later, but the announcers would call this connection the Great Morgan-Heath family connection.