A Game For All Seasons

The night air was crisp, even at the 72 degrees that enveloped the 2000 fans that sat and watched as the Westland Dragons took on the Dallas Sting for the U-21 Women's National Soccer Championship at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Field. Both teams had battled to a 1-1 tie over 90 minutes, and now both were coming to the end of the second 15-minute overtime tied at one goal apiece. A shoot-out was inevitable, and how ironic I thought. This is how it all began for this team; this is what set this team apart from others when they were only 12 years old back in the fall of 1994. The whistle of the center official sounded and I knew what lie in store for our girls. They had been here before; they had all been through so much. Ashleigh, Jessie and Kendall were all on the bench due to injuries, and our back-up keeper, Christa, was asking me why she had to do this. I knew this time was different, this time it was for so much more than a trophy or a title. This time it was for all the games, all the seasons and all the players that had come and gone. This was going to be a game of a lifetime - this was their game for all seasons.

The Lady Dragons were born on July 7th, 1994, and I remember it like it was yesterday. It was a warm night, and the heat of the day had parched the already dry field to a golden brown, with spots of green, as 45 young 12 year old girls showed up in mass to a tryout for the "New Premier team" about to be formed. Forty-five young girls all with the same dream: to someday play Women's Major League Soccer. But now, it was a much smaller dream that lie ahead, they were all very sure that they would be the one, the one out of 45 that would catch the Coach's eye and be chosen to be part of the 18 player roster.