"'Clear!' yelled one of the onlookers, unable to contain herself,
and with a fine stroke the Back sent the ball flying away to the
other side of the field. It went with such force that, although our
Right Back made an attempt to stop it, it raced past her stick and
over the outside line. After the roll-in, nearly all the play was
carried on practically in the center of the field. Each side
displayed some excellent passing, but when the whistle blew at half
time, neither had scored. By this time all the girls were hot and
panting, except the Goal-keepers, and were ready for the brief
rest. Our Eleven stood in a group together, sharing the lemons
which the Clinton girls provided, and discussing the events of the
last half-hour.
"'Girls!' exclaimed Blossom, our captain 'we simply must win this
match! We shall have the wind against us the next half, but we are
not going to let things end in a victory for the Clintonians, or in
a draw either, are we?'
"'No!' was the decided answer.
"A few minutes later every one was in her place again, but of
course defending the other goal. Blossom and Veronica were once
more bullying-off. This time the latter was the quicker of the two,
for, with a clever hit, she succeeded in sending the ball away to
her Left Wing. The Clinton Left Wing began to dribble it along
towards the goal we were defending, and, when confronted by our
Right Half, passed it to her center. I almost screamed out to our
Center Forward not to let Veronica keep the ball, for I knew she
was a dangerous opponent. She was well up the field, and with a
neat turn of her stick sent the ball past our Right Back. There was
only one girl now to prevent her from getting a goal! Blossom was
now fast gaining, and then, just as Veronica came within shooting
distance, her foot slipped in the slimy mud, and she lost her
balance. Blossom was level with Veronica by this time, and before
the Clinton captain could steady herself, she had sent the ball far
away from the danger zone.
"The play went on fairly evenly again until five minutes to twelve.
I felt wild with anxiety, and I am sure the others did too, for
there were only five minutes left.
"The ball had just been sent over the line by one of the Clinton
girls, and our Left Half rolled in. The wing missed the bill, but
Ingred took it, and--well, I cannot tell you clearly what happened
after that. I still have in my mind the picture of Ingred, who, the
ball at her side, literally flew up the field, her feet scarcely
touching the ground. No one knows how she did it, but by some
marvellous playing she passed all her opponents, and shot the only
goal of the whole match just three seconds before the whistle blew
for 'Time.'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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