What A Rush

Mozart and PK's

The first half ended in a 0-0 tie, as we were sent to the locker room. I leaned my head against a locker, baring my hands against the cold metal. Taking a deep breath, I clenched my teeth.

"Ladies!" Jill yelled, getting everyone's attention. Spinning around, I walked and sat down on a bench. "We're still in this game. This just means that we have to go at them hard when the second half starts. Like Abby said earlier, show no mercy." She said, and we all nodded. "I want a goal ladies, who wants to grant my wish?" She questioned, as we all smiled. "Now let's go!"

Everyone cheered, and started to head back out to the field. I stayed back, and lifted the back of my jersey.

"Emily?" Jill questioned. I turned my head, and saw her staring at my lower back. A large cleat mark ran across my lower back, it making my skin purple and black.

"I'm okay. I'm ready." I said, as we headed out to the field.

"Ready Rush?" Jill asked me, and I nodded.

"Yah, I'm ready." I told her, and jogged out onto the field.

The game started up again, and I thought everything was going to be just fine. But in the 59th minute, something bad happened. Julie was trying to defend against Alexandra Popp. She grabbed her shoulder, and pulled.

No, JJ no.

The whistle was blown, and the ref pointed to the penalty mark. Celia Sasic walked up to take the PK, and my heart dropped. She hasn't missed a PK this tournament, and it was an understatement to say I was nervous. I felt like my heart had sunken into my stomach, and my breath was struggling to escape my lips. Hope walked over to the side of the goal, wetting her gloves. She walked off her line, waving her arms from side to side. She was trying to psych her out. The only thing I knew that messed up Celia was jumping. I waved my hands, and got Hopes attention. Once she saw me, I jumped up and down and from side to side. She got the message, and started to copy me. She jumped up, touching the crossbar. Then she jumped from side to side, walking the line.

That's it Solo.

I saw Celia's shoulders tense, as Hope finally got on her line. Once the whistle was blown, Sasic ran to the ball. She slammed her foot into the ball, as Hope dove right. The ball went left, but went wide of the post. I jumped up, throwing my fist into the air. Hope got up, clapping her gloved hands together. She pointed at me, and I gave her a thumbs up.

The game continued, and I was feeling crazy. I felt like electricity was surging through my body. In the 69th minute, Alex had the ball in the box. A German defender jabbed at her feet, totally missing the ball. Alex was thrown forward, as the whistle was blown. It was our turn for the PK, but I was worried about Alex. Running to her side, I dropped to my knees. Tobin was soon beside me, as Alex was slow to get up. She shook her hands, letting us know she was okay.

"I'm fine, it's alright." She said, and I quirked an eyebrow. "Lower your damn eyebrow Em, I'm okay." She said, making us laugh.

"You sure?" Tobin asked, letting her hand lay on Alex's back.

"Positive Toby." She told her, and they smiled at each other. Carli ran over to us, resting her hand on my shoulder.

"Emily, take the PK." She said, as I again raised my eyebrow.

"What?" I questioned, and she nodded.

"Take it, you can do it Rush. We all know you can." She told me, and I nodded. Getting the ball from the ref, I walked to the PK mark. Looking over at the bench, I saw Kelley on her feet. The rest of the bench stood up, as I set the ball down. Taking a deep breath, I took a few steps back. The ref blew her whistle, and I locked eyes with the goalie. Running to the ball, I planted my hips right. I saw the goalie shift her weight right, and I immediately cocked my hips. The ball soared into the back of the net on the left side, and I smiled. The stadium erupted in cheers, as I turned around to face my team. I started to run to the side line, and ran straight to Kelley. She jumped up, wrapping her legs around my waist. I smiled, throwing both of my fists into the air. She locked her arms around my neck, as we were swarmed by the rest of the team. I nuzzled my head into Kelley's neck, wrapping my arms around her waist.

"You did it!" She yelled to me. I let out a low laugh.

"I love you." I said to her, and she kissed my temple.

"I love you too." Kelley jumped down from my waist, as I gave her one last squeeze. Running back out onto the field, the game continued.

Hope was holding strong in goal, not letting any goals be scored. In the 75th minute, I glanced over to the fourth official. She held up her sign. 17 in red, 5 in green. Kelley was coming in. I saw her run out onto the field, and I gave her a big smile. She returned it, and got in her position.

The game continued on, until the 84th minute. I was dribbling down field, and got trapped on the touch line. Two defenders kept me on the touch line, as a quick thought came to my mind. I immediately pulled the ball back, and then right back to my feet. It gave me some room, and I sent the ball in line towards the box. A defender tripped me up, as I fell to my knees. Looking up, I saw Kelley come flying across the box. She lunged her foot out, connected her foot with the ball. It soared into the net past the goalie, and she immediately turned and ran towards me. She had her arms stretched out, as she jumped in the air and threw her fist up. She turned around, and ran into my arms. I lifted her off her feet, spinning us. She pinned her knees into my side, as I held her up. My hands gripped her thighs, holding her close to me.

"You did it." I said, repeating what she had told me earlier.

"I couldn't have done it without you." She told me, and I smiled.

"It was all you babe, I just kicked the ball." I told her, as she dropped down to the ground. She gave me a smile so warm it could melt me into a puddle, and it just about did. I wrapped my arms back around her neck, pulling her into a tight hug.

The game continued, as I couldn't keep my eyes off of Kelley. I was so proud of her, and I couldn't ask for anything more in this world. I just saw my girlfriend, the women I loved, at her happiest moment. She couldn't keep a smile off of her face, and I couldn't keep my eyes off of her. She was so happy, and it made me tingle.

The whistle was soon blown three times, signaling that the game was over. I immediately ran to Kelley, as she jumped into my arms. The team tackled us to the ground, yelling and cheering. I held Kelley in my arms, as everyone patted us on the back and yelled. We were pulled to our feet, and lead into the locker room.

As the team was cheering and getting dressed, I ran to Kelley. She smiled at me, as I connected our lips. When I pulled back, I gave her the biggest smile ever.

"Hey." She said to me, making me look into her dark brown eyes. "We did it." She said, and I smiled.

"Yah, we did." I told her, as she kissed my nose. "I love you." I whispered to her, kissing her cheek.

"I love you too."