Fake Out (7 page)

“You were awesome,” Ben said. “That hill was a killer.”

Ben looked at Devin, who had put his sweatsuit back on and was already jogging. “Did he win?” Ben asked.

“Yeah,” Larry said. “We got first, sixth, and eighth, and I think we had two others in the top fifteen. No way any other team could beat that.”

Ben was surprised how exciting the race had been. And how hard they’d run.

“Too bad soccer and cross-country are in the same season,” he said. “That looked like fun.”

Larry laughed. “I wouldn’t exactly call it fun,” he said. “There’s nothing fun about sprinting up a hill when your legs have turned to butter. But yeah, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

“This is a big test today,” Ben said to Kim as they approached the field for their next game. “We haven’t played two good games in a row yet.”

“We will,” Kim said. “We’ve improved a ton.”

“That’s what we thought a few weeks ago,” Ben said, shaking his head. But he was feeling good about the Bobcats’ chances. And he was very excited.

Ben waved to Jordan and Omar, who were already warming up on the field. He stopped to put on his shin guards.

“We just need to be smarter,” Ben said. “I’ve made too many errors in too many games.”

The Wolves were in last place in the Southern Division, but Ben knew that didn’t mean much. The Falcons had been in last place when the Bobcats played them, but that game hadn’t even been close.
I’m confident
, Ben thought,
but definitely not
over
confident
.

The day was dry and windy, and nearly all of the leaves had fallen from the trees. Ben kept his sweatshirt on while the Bobcats jogged and practiced shooting and passing.

Coach Patty clapped her hands and gathered the team around her. Ben rubbed his hands together; they were cold. Playing goalie would be hard today because that ball could sting. He noticed that Shayna was wearing gloves and figured she’d be the starting goalie.

Coach put Kim, Mark, and Omar on the front line and Erin and Darren on defense. Ben had started every game this season, but he knew that the coach played everyone about the same amount.

Then again, he’d cost his team a few wins this season. Maybe Coach thought they’d do better without him.

He stood on the sideline next to Jordan as the game began.

Jordan kept hopping up and down. “It’s colder than I thought,” he said.

“We’ll be warm as soon as we get in the game,” Ben said.

“Hope so.”

Ben shoved his hands into the front pouch of his sweatshirt. “Go, Bobcats!” he yelled.

The Wolves had only one win this season, but they looked strong and fast as the game got under way. Twice in the first few
minutes one of their players charged down the field with the ball, dodging past the Bobcats’ defenders and taking a shot. Shayna stopped them both.

The second time, Shayna punted the ball and it landed right in front of Mark near midfield. He quickly passed to Erin, who took one step with it and sent it up the field to Omar.

“Good passing!” Jordan called. He turned to
Ben. “There’s the difference,” he said. “The Wolves play like we used to—everybody for himself. They’ve got good athletes, but they don’t work together.”

Ben remembered to add something about passing to the list of soccer tips he kept at home.

When Jordan took a few quick steps along the sideline to get closer to the action, Ben did, too. That moved him closer to Loop and Alex, who were waiting to play in the next game.

“Your team is looking good,” Loop said.

“Thanks,” Ben replied, keeping his eyes on the field.

“I guess that’s because you aren’t playing.”

Ben glared at Loop. But Loop laughed. “Just kidding,” he said. “Good luck today.”

Mark had the ball near the corner, and he was guarded closely by a couple of the Wolves. But he managed to loft the ball out in front of the goal, and Kim fielded it cleanly.
She faked a shot, then slid the ball to Omar. He was wide open, and he booted it safely into the goal.

Ben jumped high and smacked hands with Jordan. But he couldn’t help wondering why Kim could make such a great fake while he couldn’t.

It was Omar’s first goal of the season. He sprinted back to the Bobcats’ side of the field and dropped to his knees with his arms up. Mark and the others slapped him on the back.

Coach Patty clapped her hands again. “Get right back to it!” she called. “Celebrate
after
the game.”

She was right. The Wolves weren’t ready to pack up just yet. They scored a goal less than a minute later. Shayna blocked a shot and it bounced back onto the field, and one of the Wolves scored off the rebound.

Coach turned to Ben and Jordan. “Get in there for Mark and Omar,” she said. “Hustle.”

Ben bumped fists with Omar as they changed places. “Great shot,” he said.

The red-haired player who’d scored for the Wolves was directly across from Ben. He went to a different school, but Ben had seen him before. He was tall, like Mark, and he was probably the fastest runner on the field.

I’ll keep an eye on him
, Ben thought.
He’s dangerous
.

And even though the Wolves didn’t pass nearly as much as the Bobcats, their two best players kept the game very close. It was true that teamwork could help overcome a stronger group of players, but sometimes one or two standouts could keep a team in a game.

That proved to be the case during the rest of the first half. Ben, Jordan, and Kim worked well together, moving up the field several times and getting off a few shots. But the red-haired kid swooped in to take the ball away a few
times, and his teammate with the ponytail made several long runs with the ball.

On defense, Erin stole the ball from the girl with the ponytail and kicked it hard toward midfield. Ben tried to chase it down, but it was too far away, and it rolled out of bounds.

Ben put his hands on his knees and took a few deep breaths while the red-haired kid ran after the ball. The cold air was making it harder to breathe.

“We’ve been running like mad,” Ben said to Kim.

“Keep it up,” she said. “Sooner or later we’ll get a break.”

But a throw-in brought the ball deep into the Bobcats’ zone, and the blue- and brown-shirted players scrambled after it. Darren kicked it up the field, and Ben took control. The field was open ahead of him except for that ponytailed girl.

The grass was dry, so Ben knew he wouldn’t slip if he tried that fake. Things were set up perfectly. His opponent was steady in her stance, waiting for Ben to approach. He took another quick step with the ball, then shifted toward the sideline.

The girl moved to block his path, and Ben brought his left foot over the ball. He stopped short, then tapped the ball away from the sideline with the outside of his foot. He charged up the field after it.

But he hadn’t fooled her at all. Ben was off-balance as he tried to cut away, and the defender took control of the ball. She ran deep into the Bobcats’ zone with it and made a quick fake that left Erin standing still. And then the girl fired the ball past Shayna and into the goal.

Ben shut his eyes and let out his breath hard. He’d almost made the fake, but somehow the defender had seen it coming. He caught up to Jordan and shook his head. “It’s like what you told me about Alex,” he said. “I looked where I was going and gave away the fake.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Jordan said with a tight smile. “It’s still anybody’s game. Keep working.”

The Bobcats had fallen behind again, despite all that hard work and good passing. And Ben had made another misstep trying to do that fake.

They were trailing 2–1, and Ben knew that the second half would be an even tougher test than the first. And they couldn’t afford another loss. Not if they wanted to stay in the race for the play-offs.

Ben peeled an orange and sat on the bench between Erin and Jordan as they waited for the second half to begin. He didn’t feel cold anymore. The sun had come out but the air was still cool. It wasn’t the sun that had made him warm, though; it was all that running.

“That team is fast,” he said.

“So are we,” Jordan said. “This game will come down to who has more guts.”

“Us!” Ben said.

“It
should
be us,” Jordan replied. “Nobody works harder than we do.”

Ben nodded. He thought back to the way Larry had run that cross-country race. He’d reached down deep and used every ounce of energy. Ben would do that, too.

Ben looked across the field to the other bench, where the Wolves were gathered around their coach. They had two very good athletes on that team. And they’d both scored goals in the first half.

Coach Patty announced the lineup for the second half: Omar as goalie; Mark, Erin, and Shayna on the front line; and Darren and Jordan on defense. She sent them onto the field.

“This will be your last rest,” she said to Kim and Ben. “I’m hoping that we can tie the score before you go back in, or at least stay within one goal. You two work very well together, so
I’m confident that you can get us at least one more score.”

Ben watched the action with his fists clenched, eager to get back on the field. The Wolves kept the ball for most of the first few minutes of the half, but they still weren’t passing. They never got close enough for a shot.

“They’re leaving this side of the field wide open,” Kim said softly to Ben. “Let’s take advantage of that when we get in there.”

“Yeah,” Ben said. He glanced over to his parents and Larry, who were standing near the sideline. Larry gave a slight wave and walked over.

“That red-haired kid is super fast,” Larry said, “but he isn’t very good at keeping the ball close to him. He kicks it and chases it. You should be able to take it away pretty easily.”

But just as Larry said it, that player took the ball at midfield and darted past Mark and
Shayna. He angled across the field and outran Erin, too.

Now he was in a race with Darren for the ball. Darren got to it first, but all he could do was knock it out of bounds. The other kid picked it up and immediately tossed a long throw-in toward the Bobcats’ goal.