Fake Out (8 page)

“Grab it!” Ben shouted, hoping Omar could pick it up before anyone got to it. But the girl with the ponytail was between Omar and the ball. She fielded it with her foot and circled into the goal area.

Ben held his breath as the red-haired kid raced toward the goal. He was wide open, and a simple pass would have meant a goal for sure. But the girl was looking to shoot it herself, and Jordan easily stole the ball and booted it ahead to Mark.

“Great defense, Jordan!” Ben yelled. “Good hustle!”

The Bobcats had dodged a disaster. Both teams battled hard for several more minutes but neither could mount an attack. When the ball went out of bounds behind the Bobcats’ goal, Coach Patty yelled, “Substitution!” to the referee.

She waved at Mark and Erin to come out, and she sent Kim and Ben to the front line. Shayna shifted back to play defense. Jordan joined Kim and Ben up front.

Ben grabbed Kim and Jordan by the elbows. “Speed,” he said firmly. “Speed and passing. Just like we’ve been doing in practice.”

Ben had a lot of confidence in these two teammates. He knew that Mark was the strongest player on the team, and that everyone played hard. But he and Kim and Jordan seemed to have a good sense of each other. They knew where to move to be in the best position for a pass.

Since Kim and Ben had taken a long rest, they were able to outrun their opponents at first. So the Bobcats kept control of the ball, managing a series of charges toward the goal and a couple of good shots. Kim’s first shot flew just wide of the goal, and Jordan’s was tipped aside at the last second by the goalie.

“Keep up the pressure,” Ben said. “We’ve got them on their heels.”

But the Wolves held their one-goal lead as the minutes ticked away. Ben took a pass from Kim near the sideline and looked around the field. Kim was covered closely and Jordan was too far away. So Ben waved his hand toward Shayna, who was hanging back on defense.

Ben dribbled to the center of the field, then kicked the ball backward to Shayna. “We need support,” he said. “Stay up with us.”

Shayna passed to Jordan, and Jordan passed it right back. Shayna then passed to Ben, and
she kept moving forward as Ben and Jordan sent passes back to her. Slowly the Bobcats were getting closer to the Wolves’ goal.

Ben could tell that the Wolves were getting tired. The Bobcats’ swift passing was keeping them moving, but they weren’t getting close to the ball.

The next time Ben got it, he faked a pass to
Shayna and dribbled as fast as he could along the sideline. He could see his three teammates moving toward the goal as the defenders came out to stop him.

He was nearly to the corner and the defenders were closing in. Just before they reached him, he sent a hard pass across the field, zinging over the top of the grass. Ben fell forward and landed with his hands spread out. He rolled to his side and crawled back up. He heard lots of shouting.

What happened?
he wondered. Kim and Jordan and Shayna were leaping in front of the goal, and the Wolves goalie was staring into the net. He was staring at the ball!

Ben raced to the cluster of Bobcats. “Who scored?” he asked, smacking hands with Jordan.

“Kim did,” Jordan said. “Perfect pass!”

“Couldn’t have been better,” Kim said. “I
didn’t even break stride. The ball was right where I wanted it. The goalie never had a chance.”

“How much time?” Ben asked the referee as they ran back to midfield.

The referee glanced at his watch. “About three minutes,” he said.

“That’s plenty,” Ben said. “Let’s get the ball back.”

With the score tied, both teams began to play even harder. The difference was that the Wolves kicked the ball hard and chased after it, while the Bobcats made accurate passes to each other. Ben knew that his team’s strategy
should
work better, but the Wolves had power and speed.

Darren made a nice steal near the Bobcats’ goal, and he fed Ben a pass. The field was open in front of him.

Just like before, Ben sprinted along the
sideline with the ball, moving into the Wolves’ side of the field. A pair of defenders closed in on him, so he pivoted quickly and sent the ball back to Kim, who was trailing behind.

The defenders chased after Kim, giving Ben a perfect chance to move to an open area near the goal. Kim passed ahead to Jordan, and Jordan made a crisp lead pass to Ben.

Ben trapped the ball and turned toward the goal, moving up the field. Just one player blocked his path. Ben picked up his pace, dribbling the ball at full speed.

As the Wolves defender angled toward him, Ben stepped over the ball, dodging to his left. The defender went for the fake. Ben swept the ball to the right with the outside of his foot, and now the space between him and the goal was wide open.

After three more steps Ben found himself in front of the goalie. It was a tough angle to shoot from, but Ben shot the ball hard and the goalie left his feet, diving toward it. The ball rose past the goalie’s hands and sank deep into the net.

The Bobcats had the lead!

Ben circled around the goal and raced back onto the field, leaping into the air as he reached Kim. He shook his fist and opened his mouth wide. He couldn’t yell; his throat was too tight with emotion. He hadn’t even thought about those moves this time. They just happened.

“Great passing!” he finally said.

“Great shooting!” Kim replied.

The last couple of minutes were a blur for Ben as he and his teammates kept the pressure on. The Wolves never even crossed midfield. The Bobcats had won another game.

As Ben ran off the field, Loop was running on. Loop held up his hand and Ben slapped it with a high five.

“Great game,” Loop said.

“For once, we agree,” Ben replied, beaming.

Ben looked around at his smiling teammates. They’d finally won two straight. Over their last five games, they were 3-1-1, as good as any team in the league. Things were definitely looking up for the Bobcats.

They’d made it happen today. They’d played harder than they ever had, and they’d played smart.

Best of all for Ben, he’d finally made that fake in a game.

Larry was right—everybody has bad days and great days.
The great days make you forget about the bad ones in a hurry
, Ben thought.
We can beat any team in this league
.

He couldn’t wait to prove that at next week’s game.

B
EN’S
T
OP
T
IPS FOR
S
OCCER
P
LAYERS

Don’t miss
Kickers #3:
Benched

It’s a race to the Kickers soccer league play-offs. Nine-year-old Ben is pretty sure that if the Bobcats win two of their last three games, they’ll earn a tournament spot. But in their game against the Tigers, the Bobcats are a mess on the field—they’re not passing well at all—and Ben decides to take control. Someone has to win this thing, and his teammates just aren’t measuring up.

Then the whistle blasts, the red card waves, and Ben is out—benched for dangerous moves. Not only that, he’s barred from the next game, too—a key bout against the Rabbits. How can he possibly help his team to the play-offs from the
sidelines
?

The Kickers series, from award-winning sports novelist Rich Wallace, features nonstop soccer action, black-and-white art, and league statistics and soccer tips throughout.

Also available:
Kickers #1:
The Ball Hogs
Kickers #4:
Game-Day Jitters