The ball collided with the soggy ground two feet from where I stood. All my muscles bunched as I ferociously attacked the ball. My cleats slid along the slimy surface as I reached out a foot to kick. Just as I made contact with the ball and sent it flying towards the goal, my other foot lost ground and I slipped backwards. The motion was so swift that I barely even realized what was happening before I was flat on my back in the middle of the muddy soccer field.
I groaned inwardly, knowing the mud stains would probably never fade from my light blue Chargers jersey. My hands grabbled in the wet mush that used to be a soccer field as I attempted to right myself.
A jubilant cheer erupted from the far side of the field as I sat up straight and wiped grime off my face. The fact that my hands were also covered in brown mud didn’t help.
I peeked over at the crowd standing around the goal and was shocked to see them all running straight at me. They surrounded me in a haze of light blue speckled with mud.
“You scored!” cried Alyssa, the team captain. She grabbed my dirty hand in her clean one and pulled me upright.
Dazed I looked towards the goal and saw a grim-faced goalie retrieving the ball from the left back corner.
“I scored?” I asked.
“Yes!” the team chorused enthusiastically. Kelsea reached to give me a high-five.
I looked down at my muddy shirt and all of a sudden the stains didn’t seem to matter.