The Golden Goal
“BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!” Matt’s alarm clock screeched.
“Oh my gosh, it is 8:30, I’m late for school!” Matt thought anxiously.
Matt got out of bed, brushed his teeth, got dressed and ran to school.
“Mr. Jackson, you are late,” said Mr. Smith.
“But?” Matt said regretfully.
“No buts Mr. Jackson, detention after school!” said Mr. Smith in an angry tone.
Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrring!
“Finally, I can go home. Oh, wait I have detention.” Matt said with disappointment. So he went to the detention room.
“Ah, now I can finally go home,” Matt said in relief as he walked home.
“Mom, I’m home!” Matt said as he walked into his house.
Matt sat down to watch his favorite soccer team, the Prairie Dogs, play against their rivals, the Mountain Lions. The score was tied at one, and they were in a penalty shoot-out. Matt’s favorite player on the Prairie Dogs, Mike Washington was about to shoot for the win. Mike Washington shot the ball and then complete silence.
“Goooooooooooooooooooal!” Matt shouted at the top of his lungs.
Mike Washington had just scored the winning goal in the game! Then Matt’s mom came running in.
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“What happened Matt? I heard you from all the way outside, what happened?” Matt’s mom said worried.
“Sorry Mom, it’s just that Mike Washington shot the winning penalty goal against the Mountain Lions!” Matt said with excitement.
“Oh, cool, that’s just awesome!” Matt’s mom said sarcastically.
“Thanks for the enthusiasm Mom! Oh, I almost forgot, I have the semi-final game of the tournament tomorrow, I know that games are supposed to be close to school and after school but, since the semi-final game was postponed due to rain on Wednesday and they couldn’t find any other day to play the game, they decided to play the game tomorrow. So, can you take me to the game? It’s fine if you can’t, Dad said he would if you couldn’t take me,” Matt said.
“Sorry honey, but I can’t. I have to work late, but don’t worry I’ll keep track of the game on “Score-a-lot”, that new scoring app,” Matt’s mom said with sorrow.
The next morning, Matt’s mom took Matt to his dad’s house.
“So Matt, are you ready for the one of the biggest games of the year?” Matt’s dad said with enthusiasm.
“Uh... Of course I am!” screamed Matt excitedly.
“Are you ready to go and kick those Cobra’s butts!” shouted Matt’s dad. “YEAH! Let’s go!” Screamed Matt.
They went to the garage, got in the car and drove to Liberty Field. When they got there Matt started to warm-up. When the game started, it went scoreless until there was only ten seconds left and the Tigers, Matt’s team had a throw-in.
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“Okay, let’s run the play we’ve been working on, where Alex throws the ball in to Matt and Matt does a fake pass, then shoots!” Coach John whispered.
Alex threw the ball to Matt. He did a fake pass and shot the ball, the goalie touched the ball but, he couldn’t hit it out of the net. Then the ball went in!
“GOOOOOOOOOOOAL!” everyone shouted. The Tiger won! They were one game away from the championship!
After everyone was done celebrating Matt’s dad drove him to his mom’s house. “Hey, when’s the championship game?” Matt’s dad asked.
“Next Saturday,” Matt answered.
“Oh man! I don’t think I’ll be able to go. I have to travel,” said Matt’s dad sadly.
“It’s OK Dad! Just make sure to download the scoring app, “Score-A-Lot” onto your phone, so you can keep track of the game” said Matt.
As Matt got out of the car, his mom came running and gave him a huge hug.
“Matt, I’m so proud of you!” Matt’s mom said tenderly.
“Mom, are you going to be able to come to the championship game?” Matt asked shyly. “I would not miss it for the world!” Matt’s mom said lovingly, and gave him another hug.
On Saturday morning, Matt got out of bed, brushed his teeth, had breakfast and went to Liberty Field with his mom. When he got to the field, he ran as fast as he could and started to warm-up.
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The game went all the way to penalties and the penalty score was 4-4. Both teams had played their very best game yet. This was the last shot. Matt stepped up to the penalty spot nervously. His heart was racing out of his chest. He took a deep breath. He could not hear the crowd’s screams anymore. He was focused. Matt shot the ball. The fans gasped. The balls was deflected of the goalie’s hands, hit the up-right post and went in.
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL! Matt went running around the field screaming at the top of his lungs. He had just scored the winning penalty shot and won the championship for the Tigers! Just like his idol Mike Washington from the Prairie Dogs!
“WAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!” the crowd cheered in the distance.
After all the celebrations in the field died down Matt and his teammates went out for pizza to celebrate their triumph. His day seemed almost perfect...But, it wasn’t over yet. As Matt was walking out of the pizza parlor, a tall male figure caught his eye walking towards him. As the man got closer, Matt was astonished. He could not believe his eyes... Before him was the one and only: Mike Washington! Matt could not feel his legs and was about to faint, when Mike Washington extended his hands and greeted him with a handshake. Somehow, Mike Washington found out about Matt’s performance at the championship game and kindly congratulated Matt. Matt almost fainted but, his mom held him up.
Matt gave his mom a suspicious look and said:
“Did you set this up?”
His mom said: “It was your Dad’s idea. Since he couldn’t make it to the game he decided to send a letter to Mike Washington and asked him to secretly come to the game and see you play.”
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Matt immediately called his Dad to thank him and tell him all about his wonderful day. After all the commotion, Matt and his mom went home. It had been a long and stressful day, but, it turned out to be the best day of Matt’s life!
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