Tuesday, November 23, 2021
With our final match of the fall season coming up, this past week there was one thing on our team’s mind: HB Koge.
On Sunday, we were to face the Kvindeliga’s unbeaten, first-placed team for the second time. As we prepared for our opponent, we knew what to expect. HB Koge wasn’t a possession-orientated team. They wanted to play direct and capitalize on transitions. The last time we faced them we were able to handle their attack. What we weren’t prepared for, however, was their ability to convert on set-pieces. They beat us to the ball on a majority of corners, and ultimately scored on one, the deciding factor in a 1-0 defeat.
Some lessons in sports only come at the site of failure. And if you’re like me (a person who does not enjoy failing) you only need to learn each lesson once. In the days preceding Sunday’s match, I thought about one such lesson.
. . .
I was a freshman at Stanford playing in my first NCAA tournament. The NCAA tourney is a 64-team, single elimination tournament run over the course of a month. Games are played for 90 minutes plus stoppage. If two teams are tied at the end of regulation play, a sudden-death overtime will commence; meaning, if a team scores, the game is over. If, after two, ten-minute overtime periods, there is still no winner, penalty kicks will decide the match. Our team’s goal was to win the whole thing.
We were in the quarterfinals playing the University of Florida. It was the 79th minute. We were up by one goal and our opponent was just awarded a corner kick.
Usually, I was not involved in defensive corners and was positioned as the lone target up top. This game, however, I was assigned to the near post. To say I was nervous was an understatement. All I remember thinking was, please don’t kick it to me, please don’t kick it to me, please don’t kick it to me.
And of course, they whipped that ball straight into the near post. There was commotion. I thought I heard the keeper say she had it. I didn’t clear the ball and it went into the back of the net.
Florida tied the game up and sent us to overtime. Eventually, we landed in a penalty kick shootout. Luckily, we still won the match.
More Soccer, She Wrote
06. Go Hoop (Part 1) | Soccer, She Wrote
07. Go Hoop Pt.2 | Soccer, She Wrote
05. Imbalance | Soccer, She Wrote
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I had nearly lost the game for our team and ended our season short of reaching our goal. I knew I was capable of clearing a ball in traffic. Why did I, then, fail to do so at that moment? Upon reflection, I realized the power of my mindset. The words that replayed in my head, and the thought that the keeper was going to get the ball, illuminate how I subconsciously wanted to rely on others to step up and make a play. I let the magnitude of the moment affect my confidence in my ability. And that mindset not only failed myself, but failed the team.
From then on, I knew, no matter the stakes, I had to believe in myself. I would not shy away from big moments. To do this day, before any set-piece I say to myself, please kick it to me! I want to be the one who comes up big and wins this game for the team.
