CHASING GOLD: The Olympics

Chapter 8

Tobin raced up the left side, Quinn following her attempting to defend. Alex, Andy, and Moe raced toward the box. Theo stood at the top of the box and Lindsey followed Tobin to offer help. She megged Quinn and dribbled towards the end line. Looking up, Tobin saw the three in the box. She lofted the ball up and Andy, Alex and Moe arranged themselves better. Alex watched the ball and jumped up and headed the ball. The keeper punched the ball out and the ball went toward Theo at the top of the box. She one-timed it and the ball soared into the net. The stadium erupted. The second this happened, Kelley, who was at midfield, ran toward her daughter. Theo pointed at her and smiled brightly. Kelley smiled and screamed happily, jumping on her daughter.

"Congrats kid!" Kelley yelled happily.

"Thanks, mom." Theo said. Theo felt the team jump on her, hugging her. Andy hugged her tightly after the team pulled away. They pulled out of the hug and Theo saw Hope jogging toward her. She engulfed Theo in a big hug.

"You did it kid!" Hope said. Theo just smiled as she hugged her mom.

Theo heard the announcer over the speaker system as she jogged back to their side. "Scoring in the 15th minute, number 21, Theo O'Hara!" Theo smiled brightly as her name was said. She smiled one more time at Andy who smiled back. The whistle blew and they were off again.

*****

It was the 34th minute and the lead was still to the US at 1-0.

Kelley passed up to Lindsey. Dribbling around her opponent, she passed the ball over to Theo. Theo passed the ball to Alex who stopped the ball and passed it over to Andy. Andy possessed the ball and with several touches and a few quick looks around for defenders or open players, she struck the ball and it curved into the back of the net. Tobin pumped her fist in the air as she watched the ball hit the net. She smiled wide and ran to her daughter.

Andy was in disbelief. She scored her first goal, Theo scored her first goal, and they both earned their first starts on the same day. She watched her moms running towards her with big smiles on their faces. Tobin jumped into Andy's arms. Andy felt her shoulder dampening and realized that Tobin was crying. Chill, cool, calm, and collected Tobin Heath, was crying. She smiled wide at this and felt Alex collide into them.

Andy pulled away from her mom's and Tobin grabbed her face gently. "I'm so proud of you kid. You are one hell of a player. I couldn't be more proud to call you my daughter." Andy felt her tears rolling down her cheek. She hugged her mom tightly. The two pulled away and Alex looked at her daughter. She put her hands on Andy's shoulders.

"I'm so proud of you Andy. I am so proud to be considered and called your mom. That was a great finish and I know there will be more to come." Alex said. Andy smiled brightly and hugged her mama tightly.

"Thank you, moms. That means so much to me. But I am the one who is proud to be your daughter. I couldn't ask for two better people to be my moms. So thank you." Andy said. The family hugged again and they felt their teammates jump on them and hug them.

The score was now 2-0 United States.

*****

The United States was up 2-0 at the half. The game surprisingly wasn't as chippy as the team thought the game would originally be but, they still had another half to go and anything can happen.

The teams were back out on the pitch and it was the 56th minute. Tobin had the ball and moved her way around the Canadian players. She megged several players and pushed farther up with the ball. She megged Chapman and that's when the game started to get chippy.

Chapman chased Tobin down and shoved her hard. Tobin fell but got up immediately to get into Chapman's face as the ref's whistle blew. Alex and Andy ran up to Tobin and Chapman. Alex got into Chapman's face as Andy pushed her mom away from Chapman. Alex didn't say anything to Chapman. She just glared at her. Kelley and Lindsey got in front of Alex and kept her away from Chapman. The ref talked to the Canadian player and let her off with a warning. However, that wasn't enough.

Several minutes later, Chapman had the ball. Tobin got in her way and stole the ball from her by tapping it in between Chapman's legs. This upset Chapman and as Tobin began to run around her, she pulled at Tobin's jersey. This made Tobin stumble and fall. Again. Alex ran up to Tobin and Chapman, Andy following quickly, and got in Chapman's face once again.

"The fuck is your problem?!" Alex yelled at Chapman. Alex stared down at Chapman. Chapman just shrugged. Andy and Tobin were watching this exchange happen. Andy gave Tobin a look and Tobin nodded. Andy turned towards Alex and got in between her and the Canadian player.

"Mama. Mama! Calm down." Andy calmly said, attempting to push Alex away from Chapman.

"No! This is bullshit! She can't stand that Tobin gets by her every time so she pushes her. It's reckless, stupid, and dangerous!" Alex yelled, motioning towards Chapman. The ref got in front of Chapman and had words with her. The ref showed the Canadian player a yellow card.

"Mama. We don't need you to get a card too." Andy said to Alex. "Please. Calm down. Alex." At the mention of her name, Alex finally calmed down and noticed Tobin had come up to them.

"Lex. It's ok. I'm ok." Tobin said calmly. The two had a silent conversation and Alex took a deep breath. They got back into their positions and the game started back up.

*****

When Tobin went down the third time, this time holding her ankle, it was Andy who got in Chapman's face. "Are you kidding me?!" Andy yelled. "You are being dangerous with how you play! Just play the fucking game right!" Alex was checking on her fiancé, so Moe and Theo got in between Andy and Chapman. Their other teammates were pleading with the ref for a red card but he put his hand up and made his way to Chapman. The stadium sounds were louder and Andy finally tuned her hearing to it.

The stadium was "booing" Chapman.

She could see several fans with fake red cards holding them up. She watched as no Canadian player or coaching staff tried to make an argument for Chapman. They all knew Chapman was in the wrong. She was playing recklessly and everybody was witness to it. So, when the ref pulled out the red card, the stadium erupted in cheers. Tobin was up and walking around fine now but still looked pissed. She did relax slightly though when she saw the red card in front of Chapman. They all watched as Chapman argued with the ref as she walked off the pitch.

"Hey. You ok?" Tobin asked her daughter.

"You're the one who got stepped on. I should be asking you that question." Andy said. Tobin smiled.

"I'm good kid. Nothing I can't handle." Tobin said, smiling. "But seriously. Are you ok?" Andy looked down in frustration.

"Yeah. I just don't get why a player would be so reckless. And reckless enough that she doesn't care if she gets ejected from a game. And such an important game too. She's important for them. She's so skilled but just threw it away like it didn't matter. It's just...I'm just confused I guess." Andy said. Tobin nodded and put her hand on Andy's shoulder.

"I get it. Whenever your mom gets tackled, I get so pissed. Even if it's a good tackle and she's completely fine, I can't help but get protective over her. She's my girl. I want to defend her at all costs. And I'd do the same for you. Because you're my girl too." Tobin said. Andy smiled and hugged her mom.

"I'm glad you're ok mom. I don't know what I would've done if you had gotten really hurt." Andy said.

"Let's hope we never have to find that out." Tobin said. Andy nodded and smiled. The players checked on Tobin before getting back into their positions and waited for the game to start back up.

*****

The United States beat Canada 4-0 to win the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifiers. They had one goal from Theo in the 15th minute, one from Andy in the 34th minute, one from Alex in the 69th minute, and Christen Press in the 78th minute after subbing on for Tobin in the 70th minute. They were crowned champions. They received their medals and the trophy and officially got the party started.

The locker room was loud and exciting, pumping with music and filled with dancing. They qualified for the Olympics. Now, their training was going to be hard. Harder than usual. Especially since they were attempting to be the first team to ever win the World Cup and then the gold in the Olympics.