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We're through to the grand final for hockey!
We dominated the game in the 1st half, but they got two lucky goals. The first was from a short corner, although not a very good goal, and one which happened when the goalie misheard the whistle from the next field over - it happens a lot - and stopped defending, which the wing took as encouragement to score a second goal.
Half-time, we're down 2-0. We've had shot after shot after shot and they've missed or been deflected, or haven't quite made it...over and over and over again.
Our goalie is 14, and pretty good, but she was beating herself up badly for stopping playing. Poor kid. Her mum (player) and her stepdad (coach) encouraged her, and all of us did, too.
Second half, our break comes...IDK, 10 minutes in? What should have been a goal was blocked by a defensive field player's foot. Which is a penalty stroke against them. And I'm our team's first call for a penalty stroke.
This is a penalty stroke: one player vs the goalie.
I kind of blanked out a little doing it. Like, I remember everything, but it's a bit dissociated. I don't feel panicky or stressed, I was just kind of 'get in, get it done'. And I got it in, just past her right hand.
We needed that goal; it changed the game for us. We ran back and got another goal about 10 minutes later? That was me, too - a deflection into the goal after it bounced around several times. After that one, there was a massive group hug, we were so relieved to be back in the game. And we ended three goals up, and with a goal shutout in the second half.
About that third goal; I came off with about 10 minutes to go, and my coach said, "I need you back on to replace [newer player] - I need my best attack out there!" And about thirty seconds later [newer player] scored the goal that took us into the lead. I was trying to find a way to point out that, finals series or not, it's sucky to be taken off just because you're not as good as other players, especially when it's a social club and a third-grade amateur competition. But I did get to say, "Hey [Coach], your best team is already on the field, because whoever is out there is always your best team!"
The last minute of the game was harrowing. It was in our defensive circle and we got it out, got it past the quarter-field mark, and it came to me. There were seconds left, and I swiped it out and over the sidelines. And the refs called a penalty corner against us, because that was...'interrupting play' or something? Anyway, that was an awful thirty seconds because I was thinking that I'd fucked our team if our opponents got it in and drew score again. But they didn't - the ball went out over the backline and the game was done - 3-2 win, coming from 2-0 behind at half-time. We kept going, we kept pushing, and we got there in the end.
It was a GOOD feeling.
Man, there was celebrating! Our 1st grade team had played just before us on another field, and our 2nd grade team hadn't made the finals, but they came out with the cheese platter, the chip bags, and the eskys filled with soft drink, beer, and cider just to cheer us (and the 1st grade team) on! So we had a hangout afterwards, with some alcohol, some munchies, and some waffles that [newbie player] made (she's a Belgian come to live with her Aussie partner). That's one of the things I do so enjoy about this club; that even when we're not in it to win it, we're encouraging each other and cheering others on.
If you've been following my hockey travails this year, you'll have seen that I've been stressed about not scoring more. This week was a nice filip. I scored when we needed those goals, and it spurred us to up our game. It's a relief.
So the grand finals are in two weeks time.
Now we just have to train, keep our fitness up, keep our spirits up, and hope that the team we played doesn't win against the one they're playing against in the finals!
We dominated the game in the 1st half, but they got two lucky goals. The first was from a short corner, although not a very good goal, and one which happened when the goalie misheard the whistle from the next field over - it happens a lot - and stopped defending, which the wing took as encouragement to score a second goal.
Half-time, we're down 2-0. We've had shot after shot after shot and they've missed or been deflected, or haven't quite made it...over and over and over again.
Our goalie is 14, and pretty good, but she was beating herself up badly for stopping playing. Poor kid. Her mum (player) and her stepdad (coach) encouraged her, and all of us did, too.
Second half, our break comes...IDK, 10 minutes in? What should have been a goal was blocked by a defensive field player's foot. Which is a penalty stroke against them. And I'm our team's first call for a penalty stroke.
This is a penalty stroke: one player vs the goalie.
I kind of blanked out a little doing it. Like, I remember everything, but it's a bit dissociated. I don't feel panicky or stressed, I was just kind of 'get in, get it done'. And I got it in, just past her right hand.
We needed that goal; it changed the game for us. We ran back and got another goal about 10 minutes later? That was me, too - a deflection into the goal after it bounced around several times. After that one, there was a massive group hug, we were so relieved to be back in the game. And we ended three goals up, and with a goal shutout in the second half.
About that third goal; I came off with about 10 minutes to go, and my coach said, "I need you back on to replace [newer player] - I need my best attack out there!" And about thirty seconds later [newer player] scored the goal that took us into the lead. I was trying to find a way to point out that, finals series or not, it's sucky to be taken off just because you're not as good as other players, especially when it's a social club and a third-grade amateur competition. But I did get to say, "Hey [Coach], your best team is already on the field, because whoever is out there is always your best team!"
The last minute of the game was harrowing. It was in our defensive circle and we got it out, got it past the quarter-field mark, and it came to me. There were seconds left, and I swiped it out and over the sidelines. And the refs called a penalty corner against us, because that was...'interrupting play' or something? Anyway, that was an awful thirty seconds because I was thinking that I'd fucked our team if our opponents got it in and drew score again. But they didn't - the ball went out over the backline and the game was done - 3-2 win, coming from 2-0 behind at half-time. We kept going, we kept pushing, and we got there in the end.
It was a GOOD feeling.
Man, there was celebrating! Our 1st grade team had played just before us on another field, and our 2nd grade team hadn't made the finals, but they came out with the cheese platter, the chip bags, and the eskys filled with soft drink, beer, and cider just to cheer us (and the 1st grade team) on! So we had a hangout afterwards, with some alcohol, some munchies, and some waffles that [newbie player] made (she's a Belgian come to live with her Aussie partner). That's one of the things I do so enjoy about this club; that even when we're not in it to win it, we're encouraging each other and cheering others on.
If you've been following my hockey travails this year, you'll have seen that I've been stressed about not scoring more. This week was a nice filip. I scored when we needed those goals, and it spurred us to up our game. It's a relief.
So the grand finals are in two weeks time.
Now we just have to train, keep our fitness up, keep our spirits up, and hope that the team we played doesn't win against the one they're playing against in the finals!
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But I am so sacked out today...
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