Chapter Text
It was the 90th minute. The fourth official called for five minutes of stoppage time. Emily rolled her eyes when she saw the number for added time. The game had definitely been physical from both sides, but those five minutes where the only things separating the Thorns from their third NWSL Championship win.
Portland was up 2-1 against the North Carolina Courage. From the very second the first whistle blew, the stadium had erupted in cheers and boos from fans of both teams, alongside any general supporters. Emily kept glancing at the clock, watching the seconds tick by. Portland was still moving the ball well, but the frustration from Courage was showing. It also didn’t help that the crowd was heavy with Courage fans as the final ended up being hosted in North Carolina at their home stadium.
Ever since Lindsey had slotted in that second goal in the 80th minute, Courage had been pressing the Thorn’s defense as if their life depended on it. Menges had held up really well against the likes of Williams and McDonald. Sonnett even had to give herself credit for the fair share of defensive work she’d put in as well. She had taken up a leadership role since coming back form the World Cup. Emily had slid into that role slowly, but she wanted to show Mark why she deserved to be the Thorn’s best defender. And with her team five minutes away from beating arguably one of the best teams in the league, she hoped she had done just that.
The Thorn’s had dominated the playoff tournament, as well as, the entirety of their 2019 season, especially when the internationals had returned form the World Cup. They had just beaten Seattle Reign four days prior but had come to the Courage’s home stadium with nothing but determination fueling their drive for that third star above their crest.
Four minutes.
Thorns had the ball again. They were moving up the field, still pressing even though they were up a goal. Emily knew that last-minute goals were a common occurrence. They had to keep going until that final whistle blew. Emily could almost taste the champagne that would be aggressively sprayed once they’d won.
Tobin was able to dribble up the side of the pitch and deliver a cross. Emily held her breath as it landed at Sinclair’s feet. The Canadian took the shot but Labbé was able to get her fingertips on the ball to tip it over the crossbar.
Three minutes.
Tobin began to set up the corner kick. Emily readied herself at the outside of the eighteen, in case any clearance slipped out. Usually, she’d be in the eighteen, ready to get anything on the cross, but with the score this close, she didn’t want to risk leaving Menges to defend for herself. Emily caught the eyes of Lindsey. She wiggled a thumbs up at her best friend. Lindsey chuckled to herself as she mimicked the thumbs up. Then the ball left Tobin’s foot.
Dahlkemper cleared the ball past Emily. It landed at the feet of Menges, who settled it with ease. Sonnett hung back, waiting for her fellow center back to play the ball back in, but when the ball left Menges, it had mistakenly gone directly towards a sprinting Courage player, Zerboni. And just like that, they had a breakaway.
Emily went into a full sprint. After 90 minutes of play, her lungs were burning, but she was willing to do anything to stop Zerboni from scoring. They passed the midway line and Sonnett was starting to nick at Zerboni’s heels. Suddenly they were side by side, with Sonnett slowly getting ahead. Emily was in the right area to slide, so without really thinking, she did.
Everything happened so fast.
Emily was able to get a foot on the ball, safely clearing it out. But, Zerboni didn’t stop running and with her follow-through carrying her weight, she drove a knee into Sonnett’s temple before finally tripping over the defender and hitting the ground herself.
Everything went black. Then Sonnett realized she was squeezing her eyes shut. She was face down on the turf, her arms curled over her head trying to stifle the waves of pain that washed over her.
She could hear the roar of the stadium, but the noise sounded distant. Almost like the fans were underwater. She thought she heard a whistle. Then she felt hands on her back. Then there was yelling.
“What the hell McCall?” Lindsey. Emily could recognize her best friend’s voice from miles away.
“She tackled me!” Emily assumed that was Zerboni. She groaned and slowly rolled onto her back, trying to blink back the lights of the stadium that seemed to be a little more blinding than she remembered. Emily was pleasantly surprised to see Tobin crouching down at her side with a hand on her shoulder. Raso was over her too, gently brushing away the turf that had stuck to her forehead.
“It was a clean tackle. You kept running!” Lindsey was still yelling. Tobin helped Sonnett into a sitting position. She squeezed her eyes shut again and then opened them.
“Sonny, don’t move,” Tobin said. Sinclair was by her fellow captain’s side motioning for the med team. They were already several strides onto the pitch. Once they reached Sonnett, Tobin and the others took a few steps back, giving their injured teammate space.
“Like hell it was a clean tackle! She clipped my ankle and I tripped over her. My knee caught her. Not my fault. If anything she should be carded. It was an obvious breakaway.” Sonnett tried to get a good view of the small crowd that had gathered around Zerboni and Horan, but the trainer tapped her gently on the cheek to get her attention. The arguing continued behind her.
“Oh please. Don’t give yourself too much credit. She got all ball.” Sonnett couldn’t help but smile at Tobin’s remark.
She tried to focus on the trainer, not whatever chaos was unfolding behind her. From what Sonnett could hear, they had moved to arguing with the ref now. “You’re surprisingly calm for someone that just got a solid knee to the face.” The trainer joked. Sonnett smiled. The trainer was pretty.
“Did it look bad?” She asked, suddenly self-conscious about how she looked on national television with a possible concussion.
“The collective gasp from the stadium said it all.” Sonnett rolled her eyes.
“Awesome.” She groaned.
The trainer chuckled. “I’m only messing with you. To be fair, you’re taking this like a champ. You may have just saved your team from some overtime.” Sonnett’s smile returned to her face.
“Well, let’s get this concussion test over with. We have a championship to win.” The trainer’s smile softened. Emily knew what she was thinking. Knees to the head usually lead to concussions. But, for some reason, she felt fine. The headache had subsided and the lights weren’t that bright anymore. She felt good.
“I’ll make it quick.” The trainer offered. Still, she went through the whole test methodically. She asks Emily to follow her finger with her eyes as she dragged it across her vision. Then she asked Sonnett a few questions, making sure she was aware of where she was.
“Can you tell me your full name?” The trainer asked.
“Only if you give me your number,” Sonnett asked jokingly. They both laughed, but Sonnett cut it short, answering the question. “Emily Ann Sonnett. Soccer extraordinaire.”
“That sounds about right to me.” The trainer confirmed. She started to have Emily follow her finger again.
Sonnett was still cracking jokes as they finished up the test. “Thank you for confirming my excellence. It’s a major ego booster.” The trainer dropped her hand, finished with the test.
“Well consider yourself beyond excellent because I don’t see any signs of a concussion. You don’t feel dizzy, pain, anything like that.” Sonnett shook her head, letting the giddy feeling rise in her chest. She was going to finish this game. “Alright then, you’re cleared.” The trainer helped Sonnett to her feet.
“Weren’t expecting that were you.” Sonnett grinned at the trainer. She could hear the Thorn’s fans cheer at the sight of her standing.
She chuckled, gently leading Sonnett off the pitch for a moment. “Definitely not. But I have to admit I’m impressed.”
“Impressed by my thick skull or my incredible jokes.” Emily said. They were off the pitch now. She could finally get a good look at her teammates. Some had dissipated back to their positions. Lindsey and Tobin were still arguing with the ref. Sonnett assumed Zerboni didn’t get a card. It would just be a normal foul against the Courage.
“I’d say I’m impressed by both. Think you can finish this game without getting a concussion?” The trainer asked.
The ref motioned for Sonnett to return to the pitch. Before heading back to her position, Emily turned to the trainer. “Oh for you? Anything.” The trainer rolled her eyes. She had known Sonnett for a while. She was used to her playful jokes that she had mistakenly taken as flirting when they had first met. By now, she knew that joking and Emily Sonnett are a package deal.
To Emily’s dismay, the ref had added on an additional two minutes for her brief injury. Once Emily had returned to the pitch, Lindsey and Tobin finally backed down from the ref, accepting the call.
Sonnett positioned herself to take it, making a point to ignore Zerboni’s stares that were far from friendly. Instead, she focused on her teammates. Some of them were still giving her worried glances. “I’m good. Let’s finish the game.” She said firmly. They all nodded, repositioning themselves. Emily lined herself up and took the free-kick.