It's been 5 months since the World Cup. Alex and Tobin are planning their wedding, preparing for the day they go to court with Andy, and thinking about expanding their little family. Will everything get sorted out? Will Portland be their forever hom...
Andy walked onto the pitch with her teammates and opposing players as they prepared for the start of the game. It was the San Diego Wave vs the Portland Thorns in San Diego.
Andy thought about what her mom had said to her and Alex several hours ago. "It's Portland today guys. Let's show them what they're missing by letting us go."
Andy focused forward and kept her jaw tight. Andy thought about the games she'd watched the previous few nights and the standings she looked up earlier.
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Houston Dash, Chicago Redstars, Orlando Pride, and Washington Spirit all lost their games which surprised a lot of people. The Wave needed to win the game today against Portland to bump themselves up to 6th place. It would hold Portland's points and give teams a chance to catch up.
Andy got in one of the lines with her teammates as the team began their warmups. She focused as they took shots on goal. She focused when they walked back to the locker room. She focused as they had their pregame speech, as the teams walked out of the tunnel, as she stood and listened to the national anthem, and, finally, she focused as the teams were in their starting positions before the whistle blew.
When the whistle blew, Andy raced forward. She watched the Thorns players and remembered the positioning the Thorns were currently in. Slightly more offensive.
They don't think we'll attack. They're not paying attention defensively right now. They just want to score and show us why they're the top team in the league right now. Andy thought. "Ok. Game on Thorns." Andy whispered to herself.
The Thorns controlled the ball but it was quickly taken by the Wave defender, Abby Dahlkemper. Abby passed it up to Kelsey Turnbow who, in turn, passed it up to Tobin. Tobin and the forwards along with the midfielders behind them raced forward. Tobin looked up and saw several players running into the box and she crossed it in. Alex got her head on it but it went right to the keeper. And now, the match really began.
*****
In the 21st minute, the score was still tied at 0, the Wave took the ball back. Tobin received the pass from the midfielder, Taylor Kornieck. Tobin again looked up and watched the forwards running with her. She passed the ball up to a sprinting Alex. Alex took a nice touch with the ball and sent in slightly in front of her. The Portland defender reached for Alex and tried to body her off. Unfortunately, for the Thorns, the defender caught Alex's jersey, preventing her from continuing, and pulled Alex to the ground. Fortunately, for the Wave, Alex was already inside the 18. The ref blew the whistle and pointed to the spot. The crowd erupted with cheers as their team had the chance to take the lead against the current leaders of the league.
Alex, still on the ground but now sitting up, turned to look at Tobin, who was with their daughter. The two jogged forward and reached Alex. "You ok babe?" Tobin asked. Alex nodded, no expression on her face. "Well. Get up. You've got a pk to take." Tobin smiled. Alex looked around her, not even realizing how close to the goal she was before the whistle. Alex nodded. Tobin and Andy reached their hands out to help her up. Alex fixed her socks and went towards the ref who held the ball out to her. Alex took the ball and walked towards the spot. She took a deep breath and placed it on the spot.
