The referees blew their whistles. The game resumed play.

Since Red High had won the coin toss in the first half, that meant Parkson started the ball in the second half.

Sara did a quick count of the players on the field.

"Wait a minute," she said aloud. "Parkson only has NINE field players instead of ten."

Pam hugged her arms to her chest. She was only wearing a light sweater and the wind had picked up. "That's good news for us. That means our team has one more player now than Parkson. It should be a huge advantage. The Parkson defender is out of the game due to his red card."

Sara gulped. That meant Bentley would have an easier second half than the first half.

Erin noticed Sara's expression. "Why do you look so worried? You should be celebrating. We might actually win this game!"

Sara forced a smile. "Yeah, sure. Thrilled."

The announcer was just as loud and excited in the second half as he had been in the first. "Scott Jones has the ball for Red High. He sends it down the line to James Mallory. James fakes left and...OH...the ball is stolen by Parkson's Jessie Gaines."

Sara watched fretfully as the Parkson soccer player, Jessie, dashed along the sideline towards Trevor's goal. He pumped his fists as he sprinted as fast as possible away from the oncoming midfielders.

The defender for Red High attempted to steal the ball from Jessie, but he missed.

Jessie managed to get around him and, bending low to the ground, swung back his leg and kicked the ball towards the corner of the goal.

Luckily, Trevor had been practicing those shots right before the game. In a flash, he dove sideways and managed to slam the ball away from the goal with his fist.

Erin jumped to her feet shrieking happily. "DID YOU SEE THAT? TREVOR WAS AMAZING!"

Pam dropped her head onto Sara's shoulder, laughing. "Yes, we saw the play, Erin. Trevor did a fantastic job," Pam said.

They watched as Trevor threw the ball to the captain, Chad.

Chad did a quick elevator trap. He swiftly dodged past a Parkson midfielder and sent the ball wide to the left winger, Rory.

The announcer's voice had picked up. "Rory Tons is headed up the field. Will he get the cross off? YES! The cross is GOOD!"

Sara squeezed her hands together as she watched the game. Now that the ball was back on Parkson's side of the field, the intensity of the game had picked up.

As her eyes focused back on the field, with a start, she realized Bentley was now on the run.

His face was set in furious determination. He sprinted madly towards the free-falling soccer ball. To everyone's disbelief, he leaped clear over the Parkson player standing in front of him.

As if in slow motion, his forehead made contact with the spinning soccer ball.

The ball reversed course and curved towards the right corner of the Parkson team's goal.