Todd Goes for the Goal

by Stuart A. P. Murray

  Then he and Todd shook hands again and rejoined their teams. Todd had let his team down. If he couldn’t score on Will, he was failing his new friends. No defeat had ever felt so bad. Defeat, and being the enemy.

  The rest of the season went by like a blur, with Ross Corners building a 16–1 record. Todd forgot about his troubles with Melanie once he was on the soccer field. He was high scorer. No other goalie threw him off his game like Will could.

  Meanwhile, Highfield was 17–0. Their rematch, home for Highfield this time, was for the league championship. A tie would give the title to Highfield.

  The game was even harder fought than the first, neither team able to score. Will, as usual, was incredible. He saved everything. Todd, as usual against Highfield, played great everywhere but in front of Will’s goal. As for Giorgio, he was forced to go back to help defend the goal. Highfield attacked from the wings—not trying to go up the middle, where Giorgio played. When he did get the ball, two or three Highfield players swarmed around him every time. More than ever, it was up to Todd to score.

  At halftime, as the players got ready to go back on the field, the voice of a Ross Corners parent rang out.

  “Somebody should take a dive in the penalty box before they do!” It was Mr. Spane, who was joined by several other parents agreeing with him. “What choice do we have, when these guys do it, but the refs—”

  “No, Dad.” He was cut off by his son, Jerry, who said, “They cheat, Dad, we don’t.”

  That quieted everyone down. Coach Godwin patted Jerry on the shoulder. Todd was impressed. He felt more determined than ever. He had to make the difference. He wanted to score, and he had to concentrate. He stepped on the field, feeling at last like he could do it.

  Highfield dominated this time. They knew how to use their defenders for back passes. They had the ball most of the time. The Ross Corners players were wearing down, trying to break up those short passes. No goals would mean Highfield would be the champs.

  “That’s it, that’s it!” Coach Jaynes yelled again and again. “Make ’em chase for it!”

  The Ross Corners players did just that, but without much success. Then Coach Godwin told Todd to stay with their central defender, Rudy.

  “He’s their target man for back passes,” he said. “Stay with him and break up those passes.”

  Todd battled Rudy with all he had. He was making things harder for Rudy, but the Highfield players knew their short passing game very well. They seemed to be playing for a tie.

  Time was running out, and Todd was burning out. But he gave one last effort as a ball came back to Rudy. Todd just got a foot in and the ball sprang loose. From out of nowhere, Giorgio raced through. He got the ball and headed for goal. Todd followed, and so did the whole Highfield team. Jaynes was howling, “Get him!” Will was ready to take on Giorgio one-on-one.

  “Get him!” Jaynes shrieked.

  Rudy got there with a tremendous defensive play. He blocked Giorgio’s rush to goal, bouncing the ball free. Rudy and Giorgio fought for it. Todd came up and called to Giorgio, who flicked it forward. Will was off his line. Todd had the ball, far-right corner open.

  Todd watched as he fell. Impossible to save this time. The ball was up and away.

  So was Will, as if he knew—knew where it was going.

  Fingertips again. Unbelievable. He saved it!

  Even before Todd could get to his feet, the whistle blew for the end of the game. Highfield went wild. Todd just lay there, trying to catch his breath, trying to understand what had happened.

  “See you in the sectional tournament, dude.” Will pulled Todd to his feet. “Probably you and us in the finals.”

  And the winner of the section would go on to the state championship.

  “How’d you do that?” Todd asked. “How’d you make that save, man?”

  “See you this weekend,” Will said, reminding him they had plans to meet at the Benson greenhouse, where there was a sale of pumpkins and autumn flowers. “I’ll even let you in on a secret—or maybe two.”

  Todd was so numb that he didn’t even look around for Melanie. He was miserable enough right now.

  Chapter Ten

  Shoot-out

  It was a chilly, sunny Saturday morning when Will came to the Benson greenhouse. Todd had finished his work, so they went out to the bench by the stream to talk about soccer—or so Todd thought.

  The conversation started out that way. Will said he had several college scouts in touch with him. No scholarships were on the table yet. His first choice had not come through.

  “If you win the section,” Todd said, “then get the state title, you’ll be golden, man.”

  “Just gotta get past you, Pelé.”

  “Right,” Todd replied, faking confidence. “You can’t always be lucky.”

  “It’s not luck, dude. It’s knowledge. Of you.”

  Will grinned, looking at his watch. Todd tried to change the subject. He didn’t want to discuss how he seemed to be choking every time he played Highfield. Will was not about to let it go, though.

  “Yep, I got your number, bro.”

  “How so? Not just luck?” Todd asked, curious.

  “You always look up just before you go for that lofted shot.”

  “I do?”

  “Every time you loft the ball into a corner.” Will looked at his watch again. “So I know what you’re going to do, where the ball’s going, and then I don’t need luck.”

  Todd couldn’t understand why Will would give his secret to him.

  “Why are you telling me this, man?”

  “Well, because I made the blunder of telling Gates how I knew where that shot was going,” Will said. “Gates sneered I couldn’t save that shot any other way.”

  “And you said you could.”

  “I did.” Will chuckled. “And Gates said to me, ‘Ferther, I’ll bet you—’”

  “What did you say—I mean, you said he said ferther?”

  “That he did, and I even told the chump to spell it for me—he did, f … e … r …”

  Todd tried to understand all this, but Will interrupted his thinking.

  “Somebody here to see you, dude.”

  “Sorry I’m late.”

  Todd turned, amazed to see Melanie appear. She looked nervous and troubled. He stood up, and she suddenly put her arms around him, saying she was so sorry. Will was grinning wide, Melanie looked embarrassed, and Todd’s head was spinning. He asked what was going on.

  “Will found out that Gates had access to my e-mail account,” Melanie began. “When he and Rudy were using my laptop. …”

  “Only Gates could manage to spell further as ferther,” Will said. “As I pointed out to him.”

  Gates was behind all the trouble. He’d written the unpleasant e-mails to both Melanie and Todd, pretending that they were writing to each other. He had also taken Todd’s cell phone from the locker room a few times. He quickly sent rude text messages to Melanie and put it back before Todd came in the locker room after practice. Even Rudy didn’t know his friend was being a cyberbully. Rudy was furious when he found out, which made Gates all the more willing to spill the beans.

  “I was so hurt,” Melanie said. “I thought you didn’t care—”

  “Me, too. I thought you didn’t.”

  “This,” said Will, raising his elbows and one knee, “is where I exit, stage right, to allow you sweet young things to make up.”

  Will shuffled off, and Todd and Melanie did make up. By the time they’d talked everything over, Melanie even agreed to go to the prom with him when they were juniors—both proms, at Highfield and Ross Corners. Todd didn’t know how he asked her, or whether she asked him. But it sure made him feel great.

  Of course, one big distraction remained. Todd had to figure out how to take that lofted shot without looking up and signaling Will where it was going. It was the only way to beat him.

  Ross Corners went through the sectional playoffs with flying colors, winning all
three games. So did Highfield, which everybody had expected. They faced each other in the fourth game for the sectional championship. The winner would go on to the state tournament.

  Everyone Todd knew was at the game, which was played in a college stadium. There must have been three thousand people in the stands because this was the second game of a doubleheader—the first game was for third place in the section.

  This was a night game, with the white lights making the ball shine so it could be seen spinning in the air. The atmosphere was charged with excitement. As he jogged onto the field with his teammates, Todd felt like all those eyes were on him. When the Ross Corners fans roared for the team, Todd knew he didn’t want to be anywhere else in the world just then.

  As they kicked the ball around in warm-ups, Giorgio played him a long ball that skipped past and toward the Highfield players. Todd saw Gates on the field and smiled broadly at him. Taken by surprise, Gates quickly turned away.

  Soon, both teams got in position to start the game. Todd’s heart pounded. He thought he heard his father’s voice from the crowd, even Betsy’s. The whistle blew. The ball was moving, with Highfield taking the kickoff.

  It was a crazy start to the game. In the first five minutes, Ross Corners didn’t touch the ball. In a well-drilled sequence of passes, the ball came back from the Highfield forwards, then over to Rudy. The ball went back out to the wings and then back to Rudy. It was a display of terrific teamwork until Rudy surprised Todd’s entire team. Instead of a close pass, he suddenly chipped the ball to a breaking forward. The striker scored easily. At least it wasn’t Gates getting the glory, Todd thought glumly.

  Right then, Coach Godwin put a player on Rudy to keep him from getting the passbacks. That way, Highfield wouldn’t be able to control the ball as well.

  “If they don’t have that backpass to Rudy,” Coach Godwin said to Todd from the sideline, “their players won’t have so much time to think.”

  Coach Godwin left Todd to play freely up front. The Ross Corners strategy worked well. Highfield still controlled the ball, but couldn’t get their attack going. Rudy was tough and very good, but it frustrated him to be challenged for every ball passed back to him.

  Neither team’s forwards got much of the ball. The game was between Giorgio and the Highfield midfielders. As it went on, with the score still 1–0, Todd could feel the Highfield players losing confidence. The Ross Corners guys were, instead, gaining confidence.

  Coach Jaynes was furious. He never sat down once and must have emptied a six-pack of water bottles. He was so frustrated that he even yanked Gates off the field to scold him. Gates was playing like he had lead in his legs. Jaynes sent Gates back on, but he was embarrassed.

  Then, with the clock running out, the first real chance came for Ross Corners. Giorgio stole the ball and sprang Todd free with a slick, curling lead pass. At last, Todd was breaking away, Rudy right behind him, trying to get between him and the goal.

  Todd avoided looking up at Will. Instead, he sensed where Will was positioned. Todd was at the penalty box, Rudy battling alongside him, shoulder to shoulder. Rudy used his power to throw Todd off balance, stopping the breakaway. Todd kept control of the ball, but Rudy was all over him.

  “Go down!” That was Mr. Spane’s voice, and it rose into a shriek. “Go down in the box, man!”

  Todd was, indeed, in the penalty box, protecting the ball and dribbling. Rudy was on one side, Gates on the other. If Todd took a dive here, he might get a penalty kick. In fact, they bumped him hard, and he staggered. He stumbled, but fought to keep his feet. He wouldn’t go down easy. In the next second, he saw both Rudy and Gates were down, sprawling. They had collided, and the ball was still at his feet.

  Rudy quickly got back up. Todd stopped and faked a shot. Rudy threw out a leg. But Todd pulled the ball back, and pushed it across to Giorgio, who beat two defenders and moved into the middle, looking for a shot.

  “Get him! Get him!” Gates, Rudy, and Jaynes were all screaming.

  Will came out for Giorgio. Will’s eyes were fixed to the ball at Giorgio’s feet. Will took two quick steps forward.

  Todd moved into the open. Then the ball was at his feet, unexpectedly. It was another perfect pass from Giorgio. Todd was at the left of the goal, on the edge of the penalty box. He didn’t look up.

  Instead, he shouted, “Giorgio, go!” and faked as if he were going to pass into the middle.

  In the next instant, the ball was sailing high. Everybody was frozen, watching.

  All but Will, who was scrambling, leaping desperately, pawing at air. Another magnificent effort!

  But the ball dropped into the far upper corner, tying the game. Will was on his back. Gates and Rudy were yelling at each other. Coach Jaynes was red faced, slumped on his chair, unable to speak. Or drink water.

  Todd trotted back to the roar of the crowd and praise of his teammates. He didn’t think Will would appreciate any joking just then. And scoring on him didn’t feel so bad after all.

  Regular time soon ended and the teams went into overtime, with Highfield back on their heels. They wanted to hold on and go to penalty kicks. Will surely could win it for them in a penalty shoot-out. But it still was very upsetting for Coach Jaynes. He was being bested by what used to be the doormat of the league. The unstoppable Highfield was struggling for a draw!

  Jaynes was again screaming and insulting his players. Meanwhile, Coach Godwin was beaming, saying little. For the first time in many years, it was the Highfield defensive play that mattered, not their offense. Still, they were good at defense, and the overtime also ended in a draw.

  Mighty Highfield got its wish for penalties.

  In the shoot-out, each team had five penalty shots, alternating with one another. It was just the goalie and the shooter, one kick, no rebounds allowed. The crowd hushed as Giorgio took the first penalty. He ripped it low into a corner. Will had no chance.

  Then Rudy scored. Jerry was next, and he hit it well, but Will made the save. Gates ballooned the ball over the crossbar.

  Todd came next. He’d never been so nervous. He teed up the ball and looked at Will, who grinned, as expected. Todd took a long run as if to hammer it. Will started to go. Then Todd side-footed the ball the other way. Will recovered and leaped, but too late. Ross Corners 2, Highfield 1.

  Yet, there were more penalties to take, and Will was brilliant, stopping three out of five—only Giorgio and Todd scored on him. Highfield scored three times to win the shoot-out, 3–2, and the sectional championship. Jaynes and his players went wild with happiness.

  Will soon found Todd, and they embraced on the field. Disappointed as he was, Todd thought it was the right result. And he knew Highfield had the better chance for the state championship.

  “Highfield was the better team today, dude,” Todd said, “thanks to you.”

  Will was actually at a loss for words, except to stammer out a “Gadzooks!”

  Todd and Will walked off the field, arms over their shoulders. Fans from both teams stood and clapped slowly. No one shouted, whistled, or stomped. Mr. Spane, who usually had a loud cheer for the players, just stood and smiled, joining the applause. Even Rudy slapped Todd’s shoulder. It was a moment to remember.

  Highfield did go on to win the state title, and Will earned that full college scholarship. As for Ross Corners, they began a new era of soccer excellence under Coach Godwin. Led by Todd, they became Highfield’s toughest opponent on the soccer field. As for Melanie, from then on she and Todd went together to all the big dances at both Highfield and Ross Corners high schools.

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  About the Author

  Stuart A.P. Murray, a native of Scotland but raised in New Jersey, has written more than forty books, including a soccer instructional for young players. He played college and semi-pro soccer and has coached youth, high school, and college teams.

  Copyright © 2012 by Stuart A.P. Murray

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  This book is a work of fiction. References to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locales are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity and are used to advance the fictional narrative. All other characters, and all incidents and dialogue, are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real.