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Jordan reached it first. He pivoted and shot, but the ball bonked off the goalpost and rebounded onto the field. A Rabbit stopped it with his chest and let it drop to the ground. As he tried to sweep it away, Kim ducked in and stole it.

  The goalie and two other defenders were between Kim and the goal. She darted to her right, stepped over the ball, and slid it with the outside of her foot toward the front of the goal. Mark was there. He shot it hard, but right into the hands of the goalie.

  The goalie kicked it long and hard. All six Rabbits and five Bobcats were near the goal, so no one was at the other end of the field except Erin.

  Usually the goalie would stay near the goal, of course, but Erin ran up the field and took control of the ball. There was less than a minute remaining. She could add some power to the Bobcats’ attack.

  “You’re on offense now!” Ben shouted.

  Erin was past midfield before any of the players reached her. She passed the ball to Jordan, who kicked it to Kim, near the corner.

  Kim lofted the ball into the air and it fell directly in front of the goal. Shayna shot, then Mark, but the goalie blocked them both. When a Rabbit defender kicked the ball back across midfield, the referee blew the final whistle.

  The Rabbits had held on to win, 3–2.

  “Best effort so far this season,” Coach said as the exhausted Bobcats flopped onto the grass and the bench. “Awesome work.”

  Jordan was staring at the turf. Mark had his eyes shut with his face toward the sky. Kim was pacing and gazing at the Rabbits’ goal. None of the Bobcats looked happy about the effort. They’d lost.

  So close, Ben thought. So close to the best team in the league.

  He slowly removed the headband with the bobcat ears. He stared at it for a few seconds. If they’d been that close with only seven players, how would they have done with eight?

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Play-off Pressure

  —————

  At dinner that night, Mom kept talking about what a great mascot Ben had been. “So enthusiastic,” she said. “You guys should have seen him.”

  “Too bad we missed it,” Dad said. “But Larry had a race, and I was too busy catching up on some reports for work.”

  Ben swirled his spaghetti with his fork. “Are you too busy to go trick-or-treating with me tonight?” he asked.

  Dad laughed. “Not too busy, but maybe too old.”

  “I’ll take you,” Larry said. “Maybe we could go for a trick-or-treating run.”

  “Nah. I’d spill all my candy.”

  “That’s okay,” Larry said. “I’ve run enough for one week … We won the race this morning, by the way.”

  Mom cleared her throat. “Speaking of being busy …”

  Ben set down his fork.

  “I’ve decided to start working full-time at the bank,” Mom said. “That means you’ll get home before I do every day after school, Ben. And I’ll have to work some Saturday mornings, too.”

  “How come?” Ben asked. She’d been working three days a week since he’d started school.

  “We need the money,” she said. “I’m sure you’ve noticed some tension between me and Dad lately. I think it’s part of the reason you’ve been getting yourself into trouble at school and at soccer.”

  Ben nodded. “Maybe,” he said.

  “Money doesn’t make anyone happy,” Mom said, “but it can make you tense. We need for me to earn more of it. So that’s why I’ll be working more.”

  “Sounds okay,” Ben said. “Hey, does that mean we can start going to the Ming Castle again?”

  Mom smiled. “Are you getting tired of spaghetti and hamburgers?”

  “A little.”

  “We’ll go next Saturday night,” Dad said. “That’ll be a day to celebrate. Larry has the county cross-country championships in the morning, and it’ll be the end of Mom’s first full-time week at the bank.”

  “Big day for me, too,” Ben said. “I finally get to play soccer again. I’ve missed a game and a half because of that stupid red card.”

  “We’re all glad that’s over,” Mom said. “I think you earned your way back onto the field with that cheering display this morning.”

  “Yeah, that was fun,” Ben said. “But not nearly as much fun as playing.”

  The evening was cool and breezy, so Ben put an extra sweatshirt under his bobcat costume and added a pair of brown mittens. Larry put on an old Wolfman mask, and they headed out to the street.

  They trick-or-treated at several houses in the neighborhood, then reached Erin’s. She answered the door in a rabbit costume.

  “Hey,” Ben said. “How come you’re dressed like our enemies?”

  “I hadn’t even thought about that,” Erin said. “Besides, that game is done. Our new rivals are the Sharks.”

  “Yeah,” Ben replied. “It’s going to be like a championship game. Whoever wins goes to the play-offs. The loser is finished for the season.”

  Erin joined them for another half hour of trick-or-treating. All Ben wanted to talk about was next week’s game.

  “We beat the Sharks last time,” he said. “And we’re a lot better now.”

  “Every team in the league is better,” Erin said. “Remember, the Sharks tied the Rabbits last week.”

  “But they lost to the Tigers today. The Tigers are in last place.”

  “It just shows you that any team can win any game,” Erin said. “We’ll have to play better than ever to beat the Sharks.”

  Ben was ready to do that. Watching today’s game had been hard. Every time the Bobcats had the ball, he wanted to run onto the field and set up for a shot. It had been frustrating to do nothing but cheer.

  But he’d also noticed some things that he might not have seen if he’d been in the game. Players still tended to bunch up near the ball instead of getting to an open area for a pass. Both teams moved in a swarm sometimes. And many of the players tried to do too much when they had the ball, forcing their way through a pack and usually losing control of the play. Ben had seen lots of missed chances for passes.

  “What if the game ends in a tie?” Erin asked. “We both have the same record. Who gets the play-off spot then?”

  Ben shrugged. “I have no idea, but I’m not worried about it. We’ll win. A big win, and then we’ll get ready for the play-offs.”

  At home, Ben took another look at the league standings. The Rabbits and Falcons were assured of making the play-offs, no matter what happened in their next games.

  Watch out, Sharks, Ben thought as he took off his bobcat costume and got ready for bed. No more mascot. And no more red cards. Next week will be the best game of my life.

  He picked up a pen and added another tip to the list on his wall. Getting angry or frustrated won’t help you play better.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Hamburger and Butterfly

  —————

  Things went well for Ben over the next few days. He played four square at recess every day. He was rusty at first because he hadn’t been allowed to play for more than a week, but by Wednesday he was at the top of his game.

  He got an A on a history test. And at soccer practice, he scored two goals during a scrimmage.

  But every night in bed, he stared at the ceiling for a long time, thinking about the upcoming game against the Sharks.

  Finally, the day arrived. He was up early, so he walked to the field. He was one of the first players to get there, even though there were two games before the Bobcats would play.

  He watched the Panthers beat the Wolves. Every few minutes, he ran the length of the field. Not too fast. He wanted to save his energy, but he seemed to have too much of it.

  During the second game, Ben did jumping jacks and sit-ups. The Falcons were routing the Eagles. Ben could hear Loop’s voice throughout the game, shouting for the ball. Loop tended to be loud on the field, but he was a strong player. He and his teammate Alex had become the best combination in the league, setting each other up for many goals.
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  Ben’s teammates began arriving, so he stood near the sideline with Jordan and Kim and Erin. None of them said much. They were all thinking hard about what they had at stake.

  “Big one today,” Jordan finally said.

  “The biggest,” Ben replied. He could see players from the Sharks gathering on the other side of the field. Their yellow soccer shirts were easy to spot.

  Ben had scored the winning goal the first time the Bobcats played the Sharks. That seemed like a long time ago. With just seconds left in the game, the goalie had blocked Shayna’s shot. The ball rebounded onto the field and Ben reached it first. He turned and scored—his first goal ever.

  That had been more than a month ago. Now Ben watched as Loop’s team ran off the field with another victory, their sixth straight. The rematch was about to begin.

  Ben looked around and saw that his parents had arrived. He raised his fist and smiled. Mom shouted, “Go, Bobcats!”

  Ben couldn’t contain his energy much longer. He bounced up and down as he and Jordan and Kim waited on the front line for the game to begin. Calm down, he thought. Don’t be too aggressive.

  Coach had put Erin and Mark on defense, with Darren as goalie. Omar and Shayna waited near the bench.

  The first time Ben touched the ball was after a short pass from Erin. He turned and looked for a place to run, but his path was blocked by two of the Sharks. He stepped over the ball and swept it toward the sideline, but a defender with yellow wristbands charged in and knocked it loose with his foot. The other Shark took possession and moved into the Bobcats’ end of the field.

  Ben stumbled but caught himself before he fell. “He tripped me,” he muttered. He took a quick look at the referee, who did not blow his whistle. It was the same referee who had thrown him out of the game against the Tigers.

  Ben glanced over at his parents. Dad shook his head and called, “Don’t let it bother you.”

  A few minutes later, Ben got hit again. Jordan dribbled across midfield and sent a smooth pass a few yards in front of Ben. Ben ran to the ball and nudged it forward, picking up speed as he went.

  Those same two Sharks moved into his path, one on either side. Ben gave a quick fake and dodged past the first one, but the second stepped closer. Their knees collided, and Ben felt a sharp pain. The ball squirted away.

  Where’s the foul? Ben thought. He glared at the referee, but again there was no whistle.

  Ben stopped and rubbed his knee. These guys were playing rough.

  “Are you all right?” Coach called.

  Ben nodded and ran toward the ball. Keep calm, he thought. Don’t let them get to you.

  The player he’d knocked knees with had the ball. With Mark approaching, the kid had slowed down and was looking for someone to pass to.

  Ben could see the play developing as another Shark drifted back and called for the ball.

  That’s mine! Ben thought as the pass was made. He darted toward the ball and took control before it reached the other Shark. With room to work now, Ben raced up the field.

  He cut toward the middle to avoid a defender, then caught sight of Kim coming up to his right. He passed the ball in her direction, but it was too far ahead of her. It rolled out-of-bounds and a Shark ran toward it for a throw-in.

  “Nice pass, Red,” said the kid with the yellow wristbands.

  Ben was startled. “What did you call me?”

  “You heard me,” the kid said with a smirk. “We know all about your red card.”

  The Sharks seemed to be doing everything they could to upset Ben. They were elbowing and tripping him and calling him names.

  I’m not getting caught up in that nonsense, Ben thought. They could try to bait him, but it wouldn’t work.

  The Bobcats made a couple of nice runs toward the goal, although Jordan’s shot was blocked and Kim’s went just wide of the net.

  “We’re the better team,” Ben said to Kim after her miss. “Keep it up.”

  But the breaks didn’t seem to be with the Bobcats today. Despite outplaying the Sharks for most of the half, they didn’t manage to score. And when the Sharks put the ball past Darren and into the goal in the final minute of the half, Ben felt his stomach sink.

  All that work and we’re behind, he thought as he walked off the field at halftime. The rest of the Bobcats looked stunned, too.

  Ben took a seat on the bench and felt his knee. He’d played the entire half, so he hadn’t had a chance to examine it. There was a red spot on the side and it was sore when he pressed on it. But it hadn’t slowed him down.

  Jordan joined Ben on the bench. “We can’t play much better than that,” he said.

  “The only thing missing was some goals,” Ben replied. “We should have had a couple.”

  “Just keep working,” Jordan said. “Sooner or later the shots will go in.”

  “They’d better. I’m not ready for this season to be over.”

  “Neither am I,” Jordan said.

  Ben rapped his knuckles on the bench. “They kept trying to get on my nerves,” he said.

  “Me too,” Jordan replied. “One guy was calling me Butterfly.”

  “Why would he call you that?”

  Jordan shrugged and smiled. “Who knows? Would you like being called that?”

  “I don’t even get it.”

  “Neither do I. ‘Come on, Butterfly,’ he kept saying. ‘Don’t lose that ball, Butterfly.’ ”

  Ben laughed. “That’s ridiculous.”

  “I know. But it was very distracting.”

  “They called me Red.”

  Mark had come up behind them. “They called me Hamburger,” he said. “I was ready to punch somebody at first. Then I just got fired up about the game.”

  “We’re better than they are,” Jordan said. “They can call us whatever they want. But at the end of the game, they’ll be calling us winners.”

  Jordan stood on the bench and waved the rest of the team over. “Listen up,” he said quietly. “We’ve got twenty minutes left in this game. Twenty minutes left in the season if we don’t put that ball into the net a few times. Who’s ready?”

  “We are,” said the Bobcats.

  “Who is?”

  “We are,” they said more loudly.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes!” they yelled.

  Jordan stepped down from the bench. “Hands in here,” he said. They all reached in, just as they did before every game. “We win or we go home. One …”

  “Never stop running,” Ben said.

  “Two …”

  “Use every ounce of strength,” Ben added.

  “Three … Bobcats!”

  CHAPTER TEN

  More Trash-Talking

  —————

  “Here’s the lineup for the second half,” Coach Patty said. “We need some goals, so let’s really hustle.

  “Shayna’s been our top goalie all season, so she’ll play there. Mark, Erin, and Kim will start at forward, and Darren and Omar will rotate in and out with them. You forwards need to work like never before.

  “Ben and Jordan will be on defense. That might sound strange since you’re both great scorers, but I’m counting on you to play both ends of the field. Your first role is to stop the Sharks from getting close to our goal, but I also want you to be part of our offense.”

  The strategy worked well. At least it kept the Sharks from scoring another goal. But as hard as they tried, the Bobcats weren’t able to get close to scoring, either. The minutes ticked away. Ben felt as if he’d sprinted several miles.

  The Sharks were keeping up their banter as well as their hard play. Ben heard “Red” every time he touched the ball, and also “Hamburger” and “Butterfly” when his teammates had it. Kim was now being called String Bean. Erin was French Fry.

  Those are the stupidest insults I’ve ever heard, Ben thought as he ran toward the ball. But he knew that they were working. Although the Bobcats were playing very hard, they seemed disorganized.
It was hard not to listen to those silly names.

  The Sharks were killing a lot of time by making safe passes back and forth, not even attacking the goal. But then Mark fell on the grass and a Shark slipped past him with the ball. He made a quick pass to an open teammate, who fired the ball at the goal.

  Shayna had to dive to stop the ball. She batted it with both hands and it rolled to the side. Another Shark ran toward it and booted it hard.

  Shayna was still on the ground. Erin had dropped back and was in front of the goal. She couldn’t use her hands, but she managed to get a foot on the ball and deflect it away.

  Again the Sharks got control. Two quick passes led to another shot, and Shayna made her second great save in a matter of seconds. This time, the ball wobbled out-of-bounds to the side of the goal. The Sharks would be putting the ball into play with a corner kick.

  “We’re getting bombarded,” Jordan said.

  “Toughen up!” Ben called.

  The corner kick floated in the air for a long time and finally came down in front of the goal. Mark caught it on his chest and let it drop, then booted it as hard as he could.

  The kick was off-center, and the ball spun toward the sideline. Jordan scooted over to it and directed it up the field, chasing after it.

  Jordan had a wide-open field in front of him and he kept moving. He passed the midfield line and ran deep into the Sharks’ territory. Mark and Ben, the two fastest Bobcats, were running up the field, too. They were spread wide but were even with Jordan. Only two defenders and the goalie were in their way.

  The defenders were the same two kids who’d given Ben trouble in the first half. They shifted forward a bit, closing the gap on Jordan.

  As Jordan neared the goal box, he stopped short and leaned to his right. Then he made a quick move to the left, drawing both defenders toward him.

  “Hamburger!” yelled Mark, who was directly in front of the goal.

  Jordan passed the ball to Mark. As the defenders ran toward him, Jordan shouted, “Butterfly!”

  Mark slid the ball back to Jordan.