How will you enrich our campus, and what qualities do you think you obtain?

Staring back at me from the other half is the bright and bold yellow lettering that spelled out Cup Crew on the opposing team’s jerseys. I meet eyes with a couple of the opposing teams’ players as if to say, “I’m coming for you, and I’m ready”. I know what to expect from Cup Crew, after all, I’ve played them 3 times before this.

My warm up is focused, cool, and contempt—and I can tell my team is more than ready for one of the most important games of our lives. Before I step onto the pitch I take five seconds to think to myself, about all my team has accomplished this year, “just have to keep working harder” I say to myself.

We start off a little shaky in the first half, conceding one goal and not playing our game. The half is about to end when all of a sudden the ball soars across the box so smooth. I find the ball with the lace of my cleat, I lace the ball with such finesse, it finds the upper nine of the net. I took my chance and capitalized on it, now the game is tied, back to the grind.

The second half has little remorse for the first, as I come out like a raging bull looking to change the tide of this game. My team and I find ourselves down by 1 after a defensive melt down occurs in the back line. I’m not one to quit so easily, so I picked up the ball and hustled to the center circle for one last offensive drive. I make one last attempt for goal but it was too late. I look up into the dark, moon lit sky in frustration, knowing that we have just lost.

As I lay out in the field, almost tearing up at the anger of my journey ending so close the championship, I think to myself. “I have gained a lot from this experience” “You can knock me down, but I’ll get back up” “you can give me a challenge, and Ill persevere through it”. I finally sit up with a sly grin on my face, “ I guess I’ll have to come back hungrier than before”. I whisper under my breath as I walk back towards the lights and the bench, “Back on that grind”.