Breaking the Mold (Alex Morgan x OC)

Find a way to get it done

Week 1 of the 2020 NWSL season was underway with us playing in Washington DC against the Spirit. 2 weeks before the season was set to begin, every player across the league began to strike so we could negotiate a better CBA for the league. Some of the owners were against it, and the rest supported us as the NWSLPA entered into negotiations with the league. It was a tense time for everyone involved, but we were united, determined to fight for what we believed in and for the future of the league.

After 2 months of intense negotiations, a new CBA was presented to the players. It included substantial increases in player salaries, better accommodations for travel and training, better contracts, improved healthcare benefits and free agency. It was a win not only for us, but for the future players of the NWSL.

Another thing I noticed during the offseason was that Kayla was looking much bigger than before, I thought she must've been hitting the gym more regularly but that wasn't the case. Thanks to being surrounded by wrestlers during my childhood, most of the big guys back then were taking steroids and juicing, and with Kayla, I could tell that she was on some sort of performance-enhancing drugs. It was obvious in the way she had gotten noticeably bigger and more muscular in such a short time.

Since the season started nearly 2 months later from the original start date, the way the league laid out the schedule resulted in us playing one or two back-to-back games. It was going to be physically and mentally demanding, but we were ready to take it on. The playoffs were structured as a special 10 team knockout style format, with the top two teams who won their respective knockout stages advancing to the final.

The weather today was extremely hot, and water breaks were implemented for today's game. The stadium was packed with fans from both our team and the Spirit. The league was growing more by the day, with newer fans and more teams which was a far cry from the days of the WUSA, WPS and the early years of the NWSL. I'd say that having most of the popular national team players in the league helps a lot too.

"Keep it up!" I yelled from the bench as the team was pushing hard for the first goal of the match. Denise decided that she'd start some of the younger players for today to see how well they play under pressure.

Ashley Sanchez, Washington's 4th overall pick in 1st round of the NWSL College Draft, managed to pick the ball off one of our forwards, and effortlessly blaze through our midfield. Sonnett and Madison tried to catch up to her to poke the ball away or even try to tackle, but she was too fast and attempted to sink the ball into our net.

But, thanks to a sticky substance called Stickum, our goalkeeper easily caught it. Stickum is a thick, dark yellow, glue-like material that Hannah began using in one of our preseason games before the strike by applying a bit of it on her gloves while in our locker room. No one besides the team knew she was using it, and it was going to stay that way until it got pointed out. I remember during one of our practices where we experimented with how much she should use on her gloves and we came to the conclusion that using a small amount should be enough to do the job. I'm just surprised that she's getting away with it.

"Damn, Nicole is playing like it's the final," Kelley said as we watched Nicole make a brilliant push up the field.

"Yeah, the rookie's got some talent." I said as we continued watching.

******

Nicole's POV

The heat was sweltering as the minutes passed, sweat slowly dripping from my forehead. One thing I realized yesterday with the Stinger rules that were up in our locker room was that what they were saying was, 'Find a way to get it done.'

If somebody keeps fouling you, talk to the official? Fine. If you needed to grab them by the jersey and give them a little shove to win a ball? Great. If you needed to punch them in the throat to assert your dominance? Whatever you need to do, get that done. Is that cheating? Maybe. Well I read Stinger Rule #1 and it says "Cheating is encouraged."