I don’t know how much longer I can go on. My throat is dry from the tip of my tongue down to what feels like is my stomach. Water, I needed water. I looked at the scoreboard to see the time. Six more minutes, I think I can do this. The whistle squeaks, I get about five seconds to stand still as a girl scrambles after the ball, setting it in the right place for a direct kick. Those five seconds feel like two as I hear the thud of the ball and see it go flying in the air, right towards me. I plant my back foot and charge at it, hoping to trap it before it hits the ground. I’m about to meet the ball with my foot when it hits the ground about four inches before, skimming the top of my head and staying in the direction it was intended to go. Water, I needed water. I hear my teammates yelling that it’s right behind me, the fans begin to cheer as I turn around and realize that it bounced over the defenders’ head as well. Again, I plant my foot and make a quick turn in the direction of the ball. As I watch the ball, it is like me in a way. Slowly running out of energy as it’s speed begins to decrease. I feel the ball on my foot. I’ve made it before the defense recovered. In front of me is the lone goalie, defending her cage like it was her nest of babies. No one was going to come near. The crowd roared with excitement. I glided across the field, and into the 18. Water, I needed water. As I brought back my foot to take a shot, a piercing pain hit my left ankle. There she was, the defender I had beaten had took me out, and I was now tumbling in the the scent of fresh cut grass. My throat ached with my ankle, a sign from my body that I could no go on. Water, I needed water.