Third Place

The boys did it! With a decisive win, the middle school team finished in third.

Second place last year and third place this year means we must get first place next spring. So long middle school ball.

On the Road to Regionals

After a second place finish in district, the high school soccer team began regional play against a high school in Memphis. The boys went to school for half a day and then made the four hour drive west. Evan was the only freshman to make the trip.

I didn’t drive to Memphis because “freshman don’t play varsity.” Eight hours in a car and eight hours with eighteen eight year olds is too much - even for me- in one day. I skipped the road trip and watched Keagan in his semi-final game instead. 

Imagine my shock when I received a text from a friend that she had taken pics of Evan on the field. He was playing in a varsity *regional* game and I was missing it! And he was playing in the midfield.

We left West Tennessee with a win and a secured spot in sectionals. I was so excited for Evan that I didn’t bat an eye at having to pick him up from the school at midnight. 

Third Place Has Never Looked Better

Middle school soccer is always full of surprises. You can always count on a parent who doesn’t know soccer, but tonight we had an irrate parent from the opposing team run onto the field during the game! Good heavens! I was speechless. Not five minutes later another parent was kicked off the sidelines. I have no idea what would have happened if our game meant something more than third place. I wisely announced, “This is 13 year old, middle school rec soccer that has no bearing on your child’s life. Chill.” Everyone greatly appreciated my pearls of wisdom - especially the dad who was taking the walk of shame around the field and to the parking lot.

We won 2-1. 

Keagan vs Angel. With his new haircut, I didn’t recognize Keagan on the field. I kept cheering for Christian when the mom next to me finally said, “That’s your kid!”

Keagan won that series. 

And this one. 

Wednesday we wrap up the middle school season with the consolation game for third place. (We sure did have to play a lot of games to only get third.)

Counting the Days

 We are officially counting down the days until we are back on the pitch with these guys. We met for pizza, a game or two of ping pong, kickball, volleyball, and Fortnight. Anything but the game they love because we don’t want to jeopardize any high school playoff hopes. A loss on Monday puts Evan back with these guys!

High School Playoffs

This freshman got varsity minutes in our semi-final district championship game. I was working the gate the first half when another parent texted me that Evan was on the field. I jumped up and headed straight to the stands. It was not his best game; Evan says his skills have regressed. However, he has secured the varsity letter. 

The tongue. Always. ❤️

Monday night the team heads to Memphis for a district playoff game. 

Middle School Soccer Playoffs

Our first playoff game of the middle school season was rained out, and we were given a new date that just so happened to be the date of the travel teams’ state league games. With two of our key players at state league, our “easy” win resulted in two OTs, PKs, and then a big fat L! The year we were to win it all has almost ended in heart ache! Our loss meant we fell into the losers bracket. We won our first game in the You-won’t-get-first-anyway playoff game.

Wednesday night we played a quarter-final game - clearly hoping our losing season will get us on track for a third place finish. 

Look at this guy! He didn’t see the reason to play for third; I did my best to convince him otherwise. It’s tough being the parent of super competitive boys who believe winning is all. 

He saw things differently when he scored the first goal of the game. When Tristan said he had scores a trash goal, Keagan said, “Who cares? A goal is a goal.” 

He has played CDM as a holding mid on the far right side of the field almost the entire season. Jandro yelled tonight, “Keagan, for once this season play in the center of the field.” He did and then set up the second goal of the game.

Monday we head back to the fields for a semi-final game. Go Hawks!

Soccer, Soccer, Soccer

High school soccer #38, middle school soccer #14, and travel soccer #13.  March and April have been busy. Evan is counting the days until his travel season resumes on May 14. He’s actually hoping the highschool team will lose so that he won’t miss travel practice.