Awkward

3

Alyssa Nahers pov.

Jill had told us to be ready to head to the bus at 9 to drive to Georgia. She didn't give us any other details. So by 8:15 I was up and moving in the meal room with the rest of the team. Everyone was throwing out their ideas as to why we would be heading to Georgia.

Then Kelley buts in with a fresh cup of coffee "we are going to watch this senior play. She's in highschool at riverside the number one ranked team in Georgia and they rank like top 5 nationally. She has like 40 division one offers. Hasn't committed yet but people say she's looking at Unc and Stanford the most. And the kid has more academic scholarship then athletic scholarships. Riverside highschool is playing Stanford for Stanford's preseason." Kelley states before taking a sip of her steaming coffee and walking away.

"I think that was the first time Kelley was ahead of all of us". Carli says in a joking tone.

"Wait Kelley do you know anything about this senior?"

"Yeah Umm, her names Cory Demarcus, her dad runs Demarcus Tech. She has a 5.5 GPA, just came back from getting her meniscus clipped. Wears number 10, she's 5'4. Last year she scored 34 goals in 23 regular season games as well as 12 additional goals through 6 rounds of play to the state championship. Has only received one yellow card all 3 and a half years. Anything specific you want to know?" All the players stare in confusion at the normally out of the loop defender.

"Hey I went to Stanford for a reason". Kelley states understanding the looks the players were sharing.

"Ohh I do have one more question." I state causing Kelley to look at me as she continually sips her coffee with an annoying slurp. "Has she ever played in goal?" I question remembering the name Cory Demarcus but not knowing why I know it.

"Yeah she played in goal her sophomore season as their goalkeeper had graduated and they didn't have anyone who was up to par."

"What were her stats?"

"20 shutouts in 25 games. No losses, most goals conceded in a singular game was 2 and that was in the state championships."

"Holy shit Jill was talking about pulling her up to the senior team two years ago."

"Yeah I know".

"Why do you know so much about this kid?"

"I was in Georgia when the state championship game happened her freshman year. I went to go see it and she ended up with a hat trick before halftime. So I started following her stats. She's good, can play literally anywhere. The only issue is she apologizes to her opponents after scoring. After she scores she will say sorry to her teammates because the cross was meant for her, or the goalkeeper if she got to close, her defender when she megs her. It's funny really."

"Then I can't wait". I state as Jill walks into the room and corrals us onto the awaiting bus.

"Buckle up we have a good drive ahead of us. And please don't act like idiots." Jill says before sitting down. The 2 hours past quickly as they pull up to the side of the UGA football stadium that was converted to a soccer field.

The team was shuffled off the bus and to their private section as the two teams that were set to play were warming up. "Watch number 10 on riverside," Jill says before taking her seat.

The teams head back into their locker rooms to change as the match is set to kick off in 5 minutes.  I was on the edge of my seat waiting as the teams stand at the entrance of the tunnel awaiting the signal to walk out. Glancing around the stadium I see the numerous hats filled with different colleges mascots.

The anthem is played and the starting lineup is put on the megatron. 22 players walkout onto the pitch and go to their respective spots. We all catch sight on the awkward looking striker with the armband placed on her left biceps that looked as if it was cutting off circulation. Once the whistle blows we watch her start to back pedal as her eyes never leave the ball. She is able to intercept the ball and starts racing down the field. All the players looked shocked at just how fast the senior was. The ball gets pushed out of bounds by Alison in goal. Cory does this weird jog/waddle to the corner flag to take the corner kick.

She takes a two step run up and strikes the ball with a good spin. We watch the ball sail over everyone's head with enough spin to tuck its self into the goal without the assistance from anyone. We watch her look on in shock as her right hand clutches the back of her neck. We watch as she jogs to catch up with her teammates who was on the back post and apologizes, we see the girls face twist in confusion as Cory continuously apologizes.

The game restarts and Cory sees the back pass, she runs to intercept as Tierna sends a screamer down field, except it doesn't get further then 2 yards as it hits Cory right inbetween the eyes and rebounds into the goal. The ball never touched the ground as it dipped under cross bar. Cory doesn't celebrate as she jogs back to the center circle. The next goal comes off Cory's foot and hits Alison right in the ear ricocheting into the back of the net. We watch as her team runs off to celebrate as Cory stalks up to Alison and starts apologizing as Alison's face contorts into confusion. After that Cory is subbed off and is replaced with a new girl.

Within a few minutes both teams head off into the locker rooms for half time as I turn to face the team. "I heard she was good I didn't realize she was that good," I state honestly.

"Just wait for the second half," Kelley says sipping on a Budweiser.

"What do you mean by that?" Jill questions leaning forward to join the semi-circle we had formed.

"She'll go in as a center back and all I have to say is she is clean. Not an ounce of temper. Atleast that I've seen. With all the scouts here I don't think we will see any today."

"No way will they remove her from up top. She's devastating up top."

"Just wait till you see her on the backline."

"I'll believe it when I see it." I state turning my attention back to the field as the two teams walkout through the tunnel. Before I know it Cory is jogging on to the field not heading for the center circle but the back line. She slots herself at left center back. The whistle blows and nothing really happens until Catarina gets good through ball and starts marching down the sideline. We watch as Cory makes quick work of pushing her to the endline stopping the threat before it presented itself as Cat takes a heavy touch and the ball rolls out of bounds for a throw in. Before Cat can even turn around Cory has chucked the ball damn near 30 yards setting her team up for a nice counter attack.

The rest of the match we watch as Cory continually shifts her position to read and defend any possible attack set on them by the Stanford offense. She really only had to make two plays the remaining 35 minutes both well-timed slide tackles and a few clearances but nothing flashy. The whistle blows and all the Stanford girls shake their heads as the riverside girls celebrate with each other while Cory slips from the field into the locker room. We watch as numerous coaches even Jill being escorted onto the field before one of the athletic trainers walks into the locker room and returns with Cory.

I watch as she stalks up to Paul ratcliff and says a few words causing the majority of players to cock their head before going to leave only for her coach to horse collar her and point her towards more coaches who were quickly crowding the field. After a few minutes of what I could only describe as awkward interaction I see Tierna walk up to the teenager and share a brief chat before Tierna scribbles something on her arm before the two depart.

Jill comes back to our section and herds us to the bus. Once we are all situated and pulling away from the stadium Jill stands up. "Cory will be joining us the rest of camp as will Tierna; come tomorrow." Once we get back to the hotel I spend the rest of the day doing as much research as I can on the young girl.

To say the least I was excited to meet her. Her records were impressive the videos I have of her in goal were spectacular and the reports I've been reading make it sound like she was a superstar not some barely 18 year old from South Georgia.

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