Hatrick Hero
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Nimarit Walia 7o English
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Hatrick Hero
“Nimarit, get up, quickly,” my mom said as she shook me until I woke up. It was 5:00 a.m. and I was getting ready to play a brutal soccer match against the U13 Santa Rosa team. I was nervous, but at the same time excited. They were very physical and had an extremely large line up. Whoever won would advance to the semifinals in the Nor Cal State Cup. I leaped out of bed and scurried off to the bathroom. After I took a steaming shower, I ate two raisin bagels and started to load up on water. The more water I drank, the less tired I would be during the 70- minute match.
We ended up leaving our house at about 6:15 a.m. We were headed to the Amador Valley High School in Pleasanton, which takes about an hour to get to. When we finally got there at 7:10, my whole team was waiting for me. My team, Ballistic United, was the #2 team in northern California. This was my first year playing for the Pleasanton traveling team, and I had started to get along with everybody. I am one of the two forwards on my team, and my only job is to put the ball in the back of net. And this was a great chance to prove myself to my team, my coach, and my opponents.
The game started with the ball at our feet. We moved the ball around the field, making the other team chase us and get tired. We exchanged several shots on goal, but none of them went in. Then, my teammate blasted the ball downfield and waited for me to start my engine. I took off for the ball and zipped by the defenders of the other team. As I approached the last defender, I felt like I was in the spotlight. I stopped the ball and rifled a shot into the top left of the goal. Right when it was about to go in, it curved away and hit the post. I couldn’t believe that I had missed. I felt horrible thinking about the glory I could have had if I made that beautiful shot.
The first half continued scoreless. They almost had a chance in front of goal, but the player whiffed the ball and we got on a counter attack. One of our midfielders, Alex, went by two players and chipped the ball up the field. I once again started my engine, but this time I kept going and going and going. I was just like the Energizer bunny. When I reached the goalie, I faked a shot to the left and I darted to the right. He dove in the wrong direction and I passed the ball into the net for a goal. I leaped in to the air out of joy and I heard everyone screaming my name. We were up 1-0.
The second half started with constant attacks by Santa Rosa. They kept us on our toes, but never managed to finish. We took advantage of this and kept countering. I eventually scored another goal the same exact way. In the last 20 minutes or so, we had the game under control. We were up 2-0 and we were controlling the midfield, offense, and defense. We almost had the game put away but we couldn’t let down yet. If they scored a goal, they’d be right back in the game.
A tall defender on the other team screamed out to me. He said, “You suck, you think you’re good but all you are is a piece of dirty Indian sh*t.” I immediately rushed towards him, offended by his words, and asked him to repeat what he said. But before he could say anything, the blue, black, and white soccer ball that had been punted up by the goalie landed on his head. He fell down to the floor, leaving the ball right in front of me. After I had finished laughing my head off, I started towards the goal and I saw three defenders, waiting for me to come at them. I charged at them and passed the ball to Alex, who was at the midfield line. He ran to the sideline with the ball and kicked it over the defenders. It landed about 10 yards in front of me and was calling my name. “Nimarit, Nimarit. Come and get me,” it said. I immediately sprinted towards the ball and shot it with tremendous force. But right after I shot the ball, one of the defenders on the opposite team knocked me down with tremendous force. I fell to the ground with a thud as I saw a white blur soar past the goalie and into the net. The next thing I knew, all of the parents and my team were congratulating me. We had won 3-0 and had advanced to the semi- finals. I felt proud of myself as I walked back to my parents, who congratulated me on my goals. “You did it son,” my dad said proudly. My eyes started to water from my happiness, and I knew in my heart that I had proved myself well.
