As proud as I am of my soccer girls, I have had too few chances to watch them play. Lots of reasons - weather, the way I've felt, and the fact that they often play in faraway (to me) places.
When I found out both girls - plus Emily coaching - were going to play on the same day within hours of each other and with weather that I could handle, I made plans to be there. The fact that one game was within blocks of me was a nice thing, and the other one was in a very familiar spot, near where I took the girls to gymnastics for years.
It was not a huge problem, but I didn't count on our downtown being barricaded for Snoqualmie Ridge Day and also having to go through Snoqualmie Day in the valley to get to the second game. Elise was planning to go with me and handle my chair for me, but she had been sick for days and just couldn't go. I can always find someone to carry my chair, so I headed off the 3 blocks to Community Park. I went one block and encountered barricades so turned into a parking lot to cut through and then ran again into barricade between me and the soccer fields. I saw someone else do it, so I gestured to the men guarding the gates that I needed to go "that way" and they let me pass. I got there before Ryan and Graysen but didn't see the team anywhere. Once they got there, they accompanied me to the right place and settled me in.
The Black Fire, dressed in black and neon green, are our team. I guess Emily hasn't gotten her outfit color-coordinated yet. She looked and sounded like she knew what she was talking about though, and I was very impressed!
Our word for the team later was "scrappy." They were so enthusiastic and just ran and ran. They seemed to know what to do when someone yelled "mark your player," and "move up." The parents were vocal and encouraging and called them by name. I already knew Karter and put some names with faces - Lucy, Nora, Kellen, Penny, Parker - maybe not spelled correctly. The goalie - Penny? - was very good and stopped what looked like sure goals.
Katherine/Kate/Katie is the one with the number 0! I talked to one of the blue team mothers after the game, and they had driven from Bellevue - not too far. They were talking about how cute our town was.
Water break. Any families living in those houses are lucky. You can just stand on your patio with a cup of coffee and watch your kids walk to school and to the park, soccer games, splash pad, tennis courts, YMCA. Even downtown. What a view!
At halftime, the support coach (Ryan) along with Graysen and Woodrow visited the team for a pep talk maybe?
The score ended up being tied, which was so perfect for those two evenly matched teams. Kate scored the first goal for the Black Fire, and they ended up tied 2-2 on a late score by the BF.
Ryan recorded her score, but I did see it and was thrilled. You can hear Graysen saying, "Kate, go up," and then Kate moved up and immediately had the ball kicked to her. She took it so nicely and seemingly effortlessly and just kicked it in. Made it look easy, but I know how hard they have to work to get these perfect lanes and opportunities. They all celebrated, and she ended up with 2 high fives and a chest bump! Sweet girl.
The game was over soon after that, and they had their snacks along with a cute snack bag that Karter's mom gave them, which provided Kate with quite a nice distraction during Graysen's game, as she methodically worked her way through the bag - down to the apple!
Ryan and Graysen left for her game, and Kate, Emily, and I followed in my car, avoiding all the blocked streets. It was not a beautiful day. I got chilly in my short sleeves at the first game, and a light rain had started during the drive. After that, it warmed up some and actually got a little steamy. No sunshine though.
I know I took some pictures and at least one video at Graysen's game, but I'm not sure what happened to them.
Kate and I bundled up with the umbrella and blanket and lots of snacks to watch an unusually blah game. The whole second half was entangled at the other end of the field, and it seemed no one had their hearts in it. The score was close enough, 2-0, seeing they were playing a really tough team, but I didn't see much enthusiasm from them. I didn't see Gray get the ball kicked in her vicinity much, and the ones they had a chance at were kicked away by the other team quickly. Like the other game, the goalie for our team - Adora, I think - was excellent and kept the score from being higher.
The most enthusiasm I saw was riding out of the sports complex parking and hearing the girls all yell "Good game" at each other, which is what counts in the end. Kate and her dad had to appear at a raffle booth for her martial arts class, so I didn't see her any more that day. She had a sleepover later with her friend. Gray was obsessed over getting a smoothie and talked about it all the way home. She walked over later, and she and Elise walked over to the Swirl and got her a mango one. Elise got the wrong combination for her yogurt, so I got it. Great...... It was toasted coconut, which was fine, but there were mango boba balls or whatever those things were on top. I ate around the boba things, and the yogurt itself was pretty good.
We had an extremely lazy afternoon with an extremely lazy grandmother and older granddaughter. The walk to town, a little computer playing, a little talking, a little reading, a spirited game of Apples to Apples with the 3 of us, and just some lying on the bed daydreaming and texting with a friend - just what a busy preteen needs. No pressure, unconditional love, and a lot of spoiling. And Mimi and Aunt CeCe loved it too.
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