SUNSHINE

fifty-three

"Good afternoon everyone, happy preseason game day!" Marc Skinner announced when he walked into the locker room. The players all started banging on the locker doors, getting some noise going through the locker room. "First order of business!" He yelled over the noise, and they all settled down. "We are playing against Jacksonville University, one of our favorites schools. They'll try to run circles around us, but I know we can shut them down pretty quick. Let's try and pace it, but if you have a wide open shot, I'm not going to say no." He continued, and they all laughed. "Second, I'd like to welcome back Casey Radcliffe, for she was officially cleared by the doctor on Thursday, and after some careful deliberation, we have decided to have her captain for this game." He added, and they started banging on the lockers again. "Alright! Let's get out there and have a good warm up, get loose and stay loose." He finished, and they all left the locker room to head out onto the field to warm up.

Forty-five minutes later they were lined up and ready to head out onto the field for the playing of their national anthem before they got started. Each team would have five substitutes instead of three, and they would have a full official team. This was the first time in her professional career that she stood alone at the front of their lineup, and she could not feel more honored.

She did the coin toss with the Jacksonville University captain, who seemed nervous to be standing there. The Pride won the toss, taking the first half kick off. Casey shook hands with their officiating crew as well as the captain of the university. She went over and joined the rest of the team, getting in the middle of the huddle to hype everyone up. The starters took their starting lineup photo, and they went and got into their positions. Alex and Casey did their handshake before they went to opposite halves, and the whistle blew as soon as she turned to face the fifty yard line.

For a preseason game, their stadium was filled more than last season. It was a good feeling, and they all hoped that they would be able to sell out a few games the coming season. Sadly, it was a year with a World Cup break, so come June there would be a two week break during group play, which she hoped to be over in Australia for.

The first half was fairly uneventful for her. The play was mainly in the middle of the field and their attacking third. Playing the universities from around them was always a good place to start because it did not only give the Pride players some confidence going into their regular season, but it allowed the collegiate players to gain experience. Morgan put two on the board in addition to Marta's beautiful goal off a set piece. They went into the locker room up three to nil, excitement buzzing in the locker room. Casey was feeling good being back on the field after her back injury, and although she was not challenged, she did what she needed to keep them ahead.

Marc did not say much to them, only praise for the way they were playing and how they were moving the ball around the field. He hoped they would get a couple more on the board, but they all did. They went back on the field ten minutes later and took the other side of the pitch. JU made two out of the five allotted substitutions, Marc deciding to save theirs for later. He was going to take Casey out to give Burdett some minutes, but she was captaining the game and he wanted to leave her in the entire time.

By the end of the game the Pride were able to put a few more on the board, pushing ahead of Jacksonville University to win five-nil. After they all shook hands, the collegiate athletes still in good spirits, they took a huge group photo, some of the players taking images with individual players of the Pride. Casey traded jerseys with their starting keeper, who kept the game at only five when it could have been more.

Casey and Alex changed into the outfits they had arrived in and decided to go do dinner at one of their favorite pizza places. It had been a while since they were able to do this, since Casey always had to rush out of trainings to head to the orthopedic surgeons to consult on her back injury. Now that she was cleared, she did not need to leave right away.