Attached - Mallory Pugh/USWNT

Chapter 14

April 9th, 2022 - 35th Minute

Game Broadcast - No One's POV

"Alex Morgan, Smith in front of her, Pugh trailing a bit...Morgan to Smith....SMITH DENIED!" Said the first announcer, Sebastian Salazar. 

"And Smith is down in the box now...will the referees call this a foul or did she hit the ball?" Said Julie Foudy, the other announcer. 

"Medics now..." Said Sebastian. "Let's take a look." 

As the replay played, both announcers inspected the tackle. 

"I think that's all ball. I think it was just a bit unlucky." Said Julie. 

"We can see Morgana LaRue warming up right there. Her first call up. She's been so unstoppable with the U-23's. This call up was long overdue, don't you think?" 

"I agree. And her game for college is also so dominant. I'm glad she finally got her call up." 

"Smith being walked off...LaRue at the midfield. Wearing the number 22 here. There she goes. Morgana LaRue's international debut against France this SheBelieves Cup." 

"Pugh in the corner, setting up her kick." Julie said. "What a beauty, right to the head of LaRue...OH! THAT"S IN THE GOAL! USA 1, FRANCE 0, 40th MINUTE BY MORGANA  LARUE IN HER INTERNATIONAL DEBUT!" 

"Her first ever touch at the international level is a goal, and a beautiful one at that. Look at that corner, perfectly placed by Pugh. Absolutely beautiful." Said Sebastian. 

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April 9th - 40th minute

Morgana's POV

It was unreal. A moment someone could only dream up. But it happened to ME. Stupid little me. 

The second I saw the ball hit the ground inside the goal, I ran as fast as I could to Mal, and jumped into her arms. She was screaming her head off, as was everyone in the stands. 

"You're insane!" She said. 

"That was the prettiest corner I ever saw!" I laughed. My eyes teared up. I hoped my Mimi was watching. 

"That's it kiddo!" Said Alex Morgan. She gave me a pretty awkward hug because Pugh was still holding me. 

"I can't believe you." Ashley grabbed me from Mal and put me down so we could do our handshake.  

Everyone on the field joined the little celebration, and I could hear the girls from the bench screaming. The most unreal moment of my life. Hands down. 

We all lined up at the circle again, my stupid smile wouldn't go away until the whistle blew to do kickoff again. 

"Goal in the 40th minute, scored by Morgana LaRue in her international debut. This is her first international goal." Said the lady who travels with the team and announces everything from goals to substitutions. "Goal assisted by Mallory Pugh." 

The crowd went wild again, and my smile came back a little bit. I tried not to let it show, because I knew the camera were following me and broadcasting. 

In the next few minutes of regulation and stoppage, nothing really happened. Both teams got near the goal, but nothing big. 

We all jogged to the locker room, and the second we got there everyone yelled. 

"I love you." Said Kelley. 

"It's not that big of a deal." I laughed. 

"You're amazing." Said Ash Hatch. 

"Not that big of a deal? You just scored against one of the best teams in the world on your first touch." Said Ashley Sanchez. 

"I owe everything, everything about that goal to Mal. Cheer for her." I smiled. 

"I'm not going to take away from your special moment. You were the one that scored it." She said, coming over to me and putting her arm around me. 

Lindsey was videoing everything. "No need to be modest, girl. You just scored your first international goal." 

"Here's to many more!" Kelley said, raising her water bottle. Everyone took a sip of their water bottles, which was hilarious. 

"Many many more." Mal said, smiling at me. 

"Thanks guys." 

Then Vlatko gave us halftime talk, strategies, things we need to work on, things we did well. That kind of thing. 

"By the way, Morgana the first women's player to score her first international goal in her debut on her first touch. Congratulations!" He said. 

"Thanks." I said shyly.

"Alright. Let's start this off with another goal." He said. 

We did the team cheer and then we headed back to the field. 

The crowd cheered as we walked out, and we headed to midfield. No changes to start the new half. 

"Let's go. Get another." Ashley said as she walked over to me. "Everyone is counting on you." 

"Nah. Alex Morgan and Mallory Pugh are on this field. No chance everything is on me." 

"You are the promising newcomer...." She said as she walked away and got into her spot. 

At the 63 minute mark, I got a breakaway. The crowd was going crazy, and I was running as fast as I could. One of the defenders caught up to me and slide tackled me, taking out my legs before the ball. I hit the ground hard as the girl cleared the ball. Mallory ran over to the girl and started talking to her, getting mad. The girl started yelling in French at her, and the ref blew her whistle. I understood everything the girl yelled, but it was super mean so I won't repeat it. 

Mallory continued to be angry, saying things like: "She could have hurt our player badly! Broke her ankle! That's dangerous!" 

I walked up to her and put my hands on her shoulders. "You need to calm down. Take a deep breath. You don't blow up like this ever." 

The ref was telling the player that tackled me that she can't do that anymore, and gave her a yellow. 

The french girl didn't speak English, so she didn't get it. I told her what the ref said in french, and she said that she got the ball first. 

"You didn't and the ref said that." I told her. 

She yelled at me for a second, then she got a red card and sat down. 

We got a free kick but it was outside the box. 

"Are you okay?' Mal asked. 

"I'm completely fine." I said. "Just don't blow up next time." 

"I'm sorry about that. I just would have been very upset if you were hurt, that's all." 

"It's okay." 

The free kick got us nowhere. Then in the 79th minute, France came back and got a goal. 

Game tied 1-1. 

3 minutes of stoppage time. 

At the 90+2 minute mark, I had a break away. I beat my defender. I had the chance to be the hero. 

The other defender slid over, and the one that lost me was running behind us. There was only one, and she was slightly in front of Mal, between her and the goal. 

But Mal was open. 

Right decision or not, I passed the ball to Mal. 

Sorry for the late update but here it is! Also a few people are interested in the Ashley story so I started it and I will start releasing chapters when I finish writing! Enjoy!