Friends and Teammates

Hadley had a soccer game last night. We played the only other local team their age. Of course, that means we are bitter rivals. We MUST win that game. MUST! AT ALL COSTS. Judging by the look on their faces, you can probably guess who won. Again! We've only lost to this team once in the 4 years we've played against them. We've tied a couple of times and won the rest! Go us!

The girl on the far right of the picture is one of Hadley's best friends, on and off the field. They will go to school together next year---so happy about that! The one on the far left is our goalie. She had a fabulous game---very exciting to see. The girl in the middle with Hadley is probably the smallest on the team, but she plays like she's 6 feet tall. Love that!

As you know, Hadley loves to score. In fact, she generally bases her success in the game by it. If she scored at least once, she's good. But last night, she had to play sweeper, or the last defender in front of the goal--not many opportunities to score from there. She used to play there all the time until she convinced the coach that her heart was elsewhere. The girl who normally plays sweeper these days fell while running hurdles at track practice right before the game. She broke her wrist--badly--and will require surgery. It's in her growth plate. :(

That meant Hadley played the whole game in the back. BUT, she rocked it! She was everywhere, taking control of the field in a way I haven't seen from her. The sweeper has a unique view of the field and should direct players and lead the team. Hadley was a real leader last night and I was proud of her for it. When she came off the field, she knew she had done well. We won 1-0. Fun!