Saved by the Whistle

fifteen || pyrrhic

[ Extremely sorry for the wait! I have been extremely busy finishing my summer homework from school and preparing for my junior year (!!!), as well as playing soccer three to four days a week. On an important note, during the school year updates are always slow for academic reasons. Long story short, I go to an advanced high school and take some AP/honors courses, so I will only be able to write on the weekends. I will make it up to my readers with posting sets of chapters at a time, but that means a longer wait, but more to read! Okay, back to the book! Hope you all enjoy the chapter! Keep commenting and voting! ]

pyrrhic : successful with great loss

Georgia watched as Karen Bardsley was taken off the field, giving a thumbs up as she was carried off to indicate she would be okay, but she would not be returning. She strapped on her gloves and took a deep breath in, standing next to the fourth official, one of the assistant coaches giving the fourth official the information he needed as he plugged in both her number and Bardsley's number into the green and red, and the referee waved her onto the field to take place of the starting goalkeeper. 

She could tell the team was uneasy, for this was her first professional game, but they were excited for her, for it was her debut with Manchester City. She made her way to the net for the second corner of the game in the first thirty minutes. The whistle blew and the ball went into service, going for the middle of the box and towards the head of Van De Sanden, but Jacobson came out of the net, collecting the ball before it hit the sweet spot in the middle of the forwards' forehead. She went down to the grass with the ball in her hands, Houghton patting her on the back as she stood back up quickly, rolling the ball out wide for Bronze. She sent it towards the middle to Lloyd, who carried then switched fields back to Bronze. 

Manchester City remained with possession for the majority of the game, the Liverpool Ladies only breaking through the back line a few times. Jacobson made a few more crucial saves to keep them in the game, one of them another breakaway from Van De Sanden in the eighty-seventh minute, but she came and slid out in the path of the forward, taking the ball straight away from her feet and punting it back to the other end of the field where Duggan awaited, taking the ball down the center of the field. She got caught by a swarm of defenders, but found Lloyd behind her and gave her a back heel, and Lloyd fired, the ball going off the expectant keeper's gloves inside the post and into the back of the net. The offensive players celebrated the beautiful goal that came in the ninetieth minute, and as soon as the ball was put back into play, the center referee blew his whistle without any added stoppage team, and Manchester City Women FC took the narrow one-nil win over Liverpool Ladies FC. After everyone showed their sportsmanship and shook hands with the other team and coaches, then stretched out.

"Amazing debut game, GJ. How does it feel to have your first professional game under your belt?" Carli asked as she sat down beside her to stretch out her legs before they went and sat on the bus for an hour. 

"I honestly don't feel any different. I mean sure, it was amazing to play in front of such a huge crowd and with all of you, but it was another game." She admitted as Steph sat down with them.

"Well that's always good, I mean you're not letting the new fame get to your head." Steph said jokingly, nudging the rookie with a huge grin. "You played amazing for your debut. I'm sure you're the talk of the town." She added, and the three of them laughed.

"Anyone know how Karen is?" Carli asked curiously as they stood up to head to the locker room to change out of their uniforms and back into the clothes they arrived in and head back onto the bus.

"She's got a concussion so she's going to be out for a while." Coach Nick Cushing informed as he walked into the locker room behind them. "Before you all start changing, I would like to go over a few things. One, amazing debut from Georgia Jacobson at only the age of eighteen, congratulations. Two, tough fought win tonight. Liverpool has a good team, so I'm fine with the score, but we definitely could have gotten a couple more on the board. Three, the training scheduled for tomorrow is canceled, so enjoy your day off. Now change and let's head out to the bus, we leave in fifteen." He informed, everyone cheering, clapping, and listening to whatever he had to say. Georgia and Carli made plans with Steph and Jennifer, and afterwards Georgia and Carli would hang around and watch soccer at her apartment.