Back of the Net Book 2: Perfect

Back of the Net Book 2: Perfect — page 7 — Enzo knows this is the last chance he’s got if he’s going to make a play and add some excitement If he doesn’t his teammates will just hold the ball for as long as possible He taps the ball quickly fakes left and tunnels the defenseman on the right An opening appears as he hops over the poor guy’s legs and finds the ball again Aiden matches his speed and is in a better position but Enzo fires off a shot He’s off balance and the goalie has the ball The other team is spread out now Their goalie kicks the ball to midfield meeting one of his players who drives it forward Manny is ready in goal and it’s quickly three against two Enzo watches but there’s nothing he can do now The ball is in play and he’s the one who messed up Jackson runs full out to cover the player flanking right 10

Back of the Net Book 2: Perfect — page 8 — Their midfielder makes a great pass And the right winger lobs a pass to center before Jackson can place himself in a better position The ball is now in the penalty area and a strike is imminent Jackson shifts gears and direction The situation is dangerous A foul now would give the opponents a penalty kick Enzo jogs back to the center line If he had kept the ball and played it safe they wouldn’t be in this position now The striker cracks off a shot It’s on target But Jackson leaps up and heads the ball to midfield It’s the kind of defensive maneuver that can break a nose and Jackson looks stunned but Enzo thinks he’ll survive Kai is fortunately in a great position He retrieves the ball and slows down the pace He passes to Aiden who slows the tempo and passes back to Ben Ben passes all the way 11

Back of the Net Book 2: Perfect — page 9 — back to Manny who pauses before passing out again wide to the left Saved The Mt Pleasant team passes calmly to one another until the whistle blows His teammates explode in celebration They saved a close call and won the match Enzo whips off his shirt and swings it like a flag The scorer The one who will be remembered The details of the match will soon be forgotten but the one who scored the goal will go on record What’s remembered is all that matters thinks Enzo The team heads to the sideline for a chat What was that about Kai asks If you have abs like these you’ve got to show them off Not the abs the unnecessary drive It almost cost us the match No harm no foul Enzo trots ahead toward the group Kai shakes his head 12

Back of the Net Book 2: Perfect — page 10 — Well done today Coach Williams kneels for the postgame chat surrounded by the team Nice goal Enzo And good play all around for most of the match A little shaky at the end but we pulled through All of us weren’t shaky Coach Jackson eyeballs Enzo Some of us were forced to cover for others That’s your job says Enzo What do you think you are perfect or something says Jackson Listen Coach Williams interrupts This isn’t the time or place to go into it We’ll talk about it at practice on Monday I think you should all celebrate the win and enjoy the rest of the weekend Good Jackson nods Enzo wags his head eyeballs Jackson and sings softly perfect perfect 13

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