On one hot morning, as the sun blazed against my face, my alarm went off for the big soccer game that was coming up. It was the game that would decide the top two teams, who will be crowned Champions. My team was called Honu United and we were going against the fearless, unbeatable, Oahu Warriors. I brushed my teeth, got dressed, packed my snacks and water and got in the car. I also brought a magic tile that I bought from a store that was supposed to give good luck.  When we arrived at the soccer pitch I saw my team getting ready to warm up. The soccer pitch looked like it was made by God himself, with the greenest grass cut evenly. I had to just stop for a moment and just admire the soccer field.

 We warmed up and I drank my jelly energy drink. I felt a tingle through my body when we were about to kick off, it was like being nervous and excited at the same time. My friends on my team was named Bernardo, and he was a skilled player, playing on the side of the field. He would help us score goals, to get to the finals. My other friend, Emiliano, played as a defender and made good tackles that would help our team win. With these people on our team, we had a good chance of winning against these Warriors. The whistle blows! The other team kicked off and they were calm, and excellent at keeping possession. Our team was pressing on them like white on rice, but somehow it seemed like we couldn’t get the ball. The warriors were pushing forward, and I got anxious.

 I sprinted to the player trying my hardest to get the ball but then, he easily glides past me effortlessly. “How?” I question myself. Then Emiliano made a tackle that looked like a foul to the referee, but in my opinion was clean. The referee blew the whistle and the other team had a free kick pretty close to the goal. The guy who was about to kick it, was short and had the number three on the back of his shirt. At first, he didn’t look like he could kick the ball that far. When he kicked it, it was soaring into the top corner, flawlessly scoring and making the goalie stutter. 

As the team celebrated and their parents cheered, my team looked a little down so I shouted “guys it’s not over yet!“ I could hear Emiliano also say “he’s right, it’s not over yet.” When we kicked off, the striker passed to me and I saw Benardo, so I passed to him and he dribbled past the defender, and most of my teammates were pushing up with him including the defenders, he got a shot off and their goalie gets his fingertips on it barely blocking it. I bite my shirt, in shock “how did he save that?” I whisper. 

After that I heard a whistle blow and heard the referee say “Water Break!” “Thank god” as I whispered heading over to the bench. When I took a sip of water it tasted so refreshing with electrolytes. Then I headed back on the field, when I realized it was a corner for my team. Emiliano crossed the ball coming towards me. I was about to kick the ball until suddenly, I look up and the warriors goalie’s hands come flying over me punching the ball out of my reach.  I notice nobody on my team was on defence and there was a warrior, the one that scored the first goal of the game. Trying to catch up to him, he was getting closer to the goal, with only our goalie to stop him.

 Our keeper got out of the goal and number three scooped the ball over the goalie to make it 2-0. I was so frustrated and tired at the same time. How were we going to win this game? When we kicked off again we were playing at a quick and fast pace. Moving the ball around that led to a cross. When the ball came to me, I kicked and it hit the post. Then I saw the ball come to Emiliano, and he took a shot that the goalie blocked, and went out and I was ready to shoot. 

 When I was about to shoot, I saw somebody coming behind me from the opposing team and he slide tackled me on my right foot, with the bottom of his cleats that had spikes. I laid on the ground and it felt like I couldn’t get back up like I had no legs. Then the referee blew the whistle to announce that it was halftime. I thought he blew the whistle for a foul, not halftime. My foot, which was swollen, hurt like I stubbed it 100 times. Bernardo and Emiliano helped me get off the field to our bench. How could our team play when it was a 9v9 and we had no substitutes.

Then I remembered that I had a good luck tile, so I put my right foot on top of it, hoping that it would heal quick enough for the second half. Suddenly, it felt like my foot was going through changes, and felt weird. After one minute of my foot being on the tile, it felt fresh and better than ever. I notice, this was a magical tile that could help people? This is a fortune! I think in my head.  Then, Coach Carlo exclaimed “guys don’t give up. Believe that we will win. We got these guys, let's make a comeback.” That made me gain a lot more hope.

Then he asked me, “Xander are you okay?“ “Coach Carlo, even though I’m hurt, I’m ready to go.” I replied. Coach Carlo looked confused. “Are you sure you can play?” he questions, “I swear I’m better than ever.” “Ok then.” he replies. After that I eat my snacks, hydrate with more electrolytes, and head back on the field with a lot of confidence. The ref blew their whistle, the second half was underway and my team was keeping good possession of the ball. The ball came to me and I dribbled past the defender and saw Bernardo wide open with one defender on him. I passed it to him and cooked the defender by making the ball go through his legs. He was one on one with the keeper and took a shot that went in the bottom corner with fantastic placement.

 “ Yessssssssssss!” I yell in excitement. I gave Bernardo a fist bump and I believed that we had a chance of coming back. Then I hear coach Carlo say "incredible shot Bernardo keep it up.” When the other team kicked off, our team pressed the Warriors like a pack of wolves and Emiliano stole the ball, passed it to me and I saw an open space so I passed back to him then he took a touch to the outside then aiming it to the left corner and… Goal!!! The parents were screaming with excitement. Tie game and one more goal to go. I gave Emiliano a fist bump and he looked very happy when he scored the goal.

My heart was beating so fast, not that I was scared but I was super happy. The referee called for a second water break and coach Carlo was so happy to congratulate us on our two goals back to back. I didn't get too excited because it was still a tie and we still needed one more goal to seal the win. The other team kicked off, and it was the last five minutes of the game. When their striker passed it to the midfielder, and dribbled up, attracting Emiliano to try to steal the ball. As soon as he lunged in, it made a gap to make another through ball. My team again was not ready and I was the only one that was close enough to their striker, but he was ahead of me by a foot and he was getting close to the goal.