Wild Thing

-9-

Over the next several weeks, the Crusaders played 6 games winning them all. The team was now sitting atop their conference with a record of 7 wins and 0 losses. 

Since their tense game against Limestone, the team and Kasey especially were relaxed, having fun and playing like they were capable of winning it all. 

Kasey, for her part, was leading her team and the league by having scoring 14 goals already. She and Angie another forward on the team had clicked from the first practice and the two had become a force to be reckoned with upfront. Despite dealing with double coverage during most of the games, Kasey was still managing to find a way to make her mark.    

Whereas Kasey preferred to lead her team by example and keep the yelling and talking to a minimum, Jen, was just the opposite and every match was an experience with her. She had found her place in the middle of the team and had even managed to score a goal in their last match. 

Originally, the plan was for the goalkeepers to be rotated, but, with Hayley playing solid between the posts; the decision was made to keep her there. 

With the team off to an unprecedented start and the team having a purple-haired superstar leading the way, they began getting noticed by the local newspapers and segments of their team highlights began airing during sports on the television stations, local and regional. 

As the team began to receive more coverage, so did the players and in particular their captain and leading scorer, Kasey Wild.

Kasey tried her best to stay out of the spotlight but being chosen as the Athlete of the Week by the local news station 4 times in a row, drew interest to her and the team, which led to more fans in the stands for their home games. 

Kylie let her know that there were videos online showing compilations of her goals and assists and also those that mentioned how attractive the Captain of the Capital City Crusaders was. Her daughter also let her know that her bicycle kick goal from the previous game was her favourite. 

It was hard for Kasey and her teammates not to notice the signs that began to appear in the stands bearing her name and number, along with her nickname emblazoned on them. When she scored the crowd would belt out the lyrics to "Wild Thing."

During their previous match, Kasey pointed to the stands, "You see what you started, Jen?" 

Jen smiled and shrugged, "I don't know what you're talking about. You're the one who started it, not me and honestly, your last name just lends itself to it."

"Urgh, why couldn't I have a boring name, like yours?" 

"Hey! Sheridan is an awesome name, although, people can't seem to spell it properly." 

Kasey laughed, "Alright, let's get back out there and finish out this game with a W." 

"Yes, Captain, Wild Thing."   

With the popularity of the 3C games, a local cable station decided to start airing the "Game of the Week". Kasey received a call from her coach one evening asking if she would be interested in taping an interview with them to air before the next game. She agreed to on the condition that she could refuse to answer any question(s) about her family.

A few days later, she missed her training session with the team in order to head to the station and film the interview. As she played with the collar of her team polo shirt, Kasey began to get really nervous about it all. 

She was fitted up with a mic and then led down the hallway to the room where the show was going to be recorded. She listened in as the man in the chair talked about Capital City and how the woman's soccer team was undefeated, thanks in large part to their Captain, Kasey Wild. As clips of her played on the screen, she was led over to a chair beside him.