My First Goal

For yesterday's soccer game, we were back in the crummy gym at MLK HS (the one that feels way too small and claustrophobic). But at least this time we had a referee who was genuinely trying to be fair. And also, this time, I didn't need to worry about getting in the way of the ball while I was on the sidelines - because I didn't get a chance to BE on the sidelines. Our star female player was out, and only two of us non-stars showed up. A full team in this league requires at least two female players. So we both had to play the whole time instead of substituting in. It was a bit daunting, and for some reason I really found myself feeling really dehydrated (I drank almost a liter of water at halftime) and drained of energy (I think there was a mental and physical component). As the game proceeded, I found that I sometimes got in the way of my own teammates (one fellow in particular was trying to play every position up and down the field to make up for the absent stars), which discouraged me from trying as hard as I usually do.

Both teams were doing badly, missing easy shots, but the other team did better than we did for the most part and won by something like 14-6. However, one of the six goals was mine! It wasn't quite as exhilarating as one might expect, because the way it went down was that one of my opponents inadvertently kicked the ball into my stomach while I was standing in front of the goal and it bounced in to the goal without any effort on my part. I do take full credit for the goal, though, since I was standing in the right place at the right time!!! And I did get a chance to take two direct shots at the goal myself, although the goalie managed to block them. (By contrast, one of my teammates had at least two totally clear shots at the goal - with the goalie nowhere in sight - and in his excitement sent the ball wildly in the wrong direction.)

I'm also still learning new rules, though this time through other people's errors. One guy was told off by the referee for throwing himself on the ground to block the ball when he was serving as goalie -- apparently, you're not supposed to do that.