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ball hard into Loop’s square. It took a sharp bounce and Loop had no chance to reach it.
    Ben clapped his hands. “Great demonstration,” he said. “I see
exactly
what you mean. Flat-footed and burnt.”
    Loop scowled. He put his hands in his pockets and stepped out of the square. The other players shifted to new spots and Ben stepped in to take Loop’s place.
    Ben and Loop were friends, but they were rivals when it came to sports and games. Ben knew that Loop had the upper hand now, after his team had clobbered the Bobcats in soccer.

    As they headed back toward class a few minutes later, Loop walked next to Ben. “So, who do you guys play this weekend?” he asked.
    “The Eagles,” Ben said. “I don’t know much about them.”
    “They beat us the first week of the season,” Loop said. “But that was when nobody on my team knew what we were doing. We just ran around the field like turkeys or something.”
    “Who do you play?” Ben asked.
    “The Sharks,” Loop replied. “What do you know about them?”
    “We beat ’em a few weeks back,” Ben said.
    “Then we should bash them,” Loop said. “Just like we did to you.”
    Ben gave Loop a light shove. “You got a lot of breaks.”
    “Like I said, we
made
our breaks.” He shoved Ben back, but he didn’t seem angry. “As far as I can tell, there isn’t any team betterthan we are anymore. And we’ll prove that over the next few weeks.”
    Ben just looked away. He and his teammates had to prove that they could succeed, too. Mostly they had to prove it to themselves.

CHAPTER SEVEN
Another Stumble

    Ben hit the ground hard, but he rolled and stood up. He ran toward the ball, wiping his hands on his blue game shirt.
    The weather had turned much cooler, and the field was damp from an overnight rain. Still, Ben was sweating and panting hard.
    The Eagles had the ball and they were in a frenzy. Mark had scored an early goal for theBobcats, but neither team had managed to score since then.
    Not much time was left in the game, so all of the black-shirted Eagles except the goalie were at the Bobcats’ end of the field, frantic to tie the score.
    “Defense!” Ben shouted. “Let’s hang on.”
    One of the Eagles had the ball in the corner, and three of his teammates were near the goal, shouting for a pass. Ben moved into the goal area, too, as Mark and Jordan raced toward the ball.
    Ben took a quick glance toward Erin, who was playing goalie for the Bobcats. She’d made four good saves since halftime.
    Here came the ball, soaring through the air on a path that would put it directly in front of the goal. Ben firmed up his stance, bracing to jump. There were Eagles on both sides of him, ready to do the same.
    Ben got there first. He brought his head back slightly, then poked it forward, meeting the ball with his forehead and knocking it away from the goal.
    That worked
, Ben thought, a bit surprised. He’d seen older players “head” the ball, but he’d never tried it in a game.

    The ball drifted to the side, and Mark reached it. He turned toward the goal, then spun and dribbled quickly toward the sideline. Ben angled over and shouted, “Here!”
    It would be a dangerous pass, but Mark had no choice. Two Eagles players were blocking his path, so he passed back to Ben. Ben took control and sliced past two more opponents. He had a clear field ahead.
    The gap closed quickly, but Ben had time to send a crisp pass over to Jordan, who was running in the same direction. Mark made a smart move and circled behind Jordan, and the three Bobcats sprinted up the field toward the Eagles’ goal.
    A series of sharp passes kept the ball moving upfield. First Jordan, then Ben, and then Mark dribbled and passed.
    As they reached the goal area, Ben had the ball, with one defender at his side.
    Do that fake
, he told himself.
    Step over the ball!
    Ben dodged to his right, then stepped over the ball and brought it back to his left.
    Now run with it
.
    The move almost