Saturday morning came faster than Ethan anticipated. The week had been a blur with schoolwork and training. He felt very tired even as the bus pulled into the Westford ground. Westford's ground looked just as nice or even nicer than Crestwood's. The grass was well kept and it actually had bleachers. Ethan had heard that the Westford Academy was one of the best in the area, so today should be an even tougher test.
Coach Warren gave his pre-match speech in the changing room. "Westford has been one of the best teams in this league for many years and this year is no different. They're going to be pressing hard and they will punish us if we lose focus for half a second. We cannot play scared against these guys. Stick to the game plan and play Crestwood football and we will get a result against these lot."
From the start Westford displayed their quality, forcing Crestwood's back line to be uncomfortable with the ball. Within the first 5 minutes the Westford striker had a shot on target that was pushed away by the goalkeeper. Ethan tried to find space, but Westford knew how much of a threat he was and kept a defender on him at all times. Callum started to grow frustrated, yelling, "Come on Matthews pass it quicker!" after Ethan's pass was cut off. Mason was running even harder than usual and shouting at his fullbacks. "Stay switched on! Don't let the wingers by you!"
In the 17th minute the Crestwood left back tried to play an ambitious pass to Ethan but it was intercepted and immediately Westford went on the counterattack. Their left winger put in a low cross, which the striker was easily able to put into the back of the net to take a 1-0 lead.
Crestwood had their first big chance in the 25th minute when Mason won a 50-50 ball and passed it to Ethan. Ethan saw that he finally had space to do something with the ball and took the opportunity to get it to Callum. Callum turned away from his defender and fired his shot low but the Westford goalkeeper was able to get a hand to it.
The halftime whistle blew and for the first time this season, Crestwood went into the changing room down 1-0. Coach Warren wasn't worried though. "You guys haven't been playing bad at all. However, you're letting them dictate the game and not playing our game. Move the ball faster and be more aggressive. Do those things and we'll be back in the game."
The second half started much like the first did. Westford dominated possession and kept the pressure on the Crestwood defense. In the 54th minute, Westford took a 2-0 lead after their center back headed a corner past the keeper.
Ethan felt exhausted, and it started to show. Ethan wasn't running as fast and his touches weren't as sharp as they usually were. After another bad pass, Callum gave him a glare but didn't say anything.
In the 63rd minute Mason won the ball and dribbled past 2 players before passing it to the winger, who then played a beautiful cross into the box. Callum was able to get a head on it, but it was headed just over the crossbar.
A few minutes later Ethan had his best moment of the game. He had found a pocket of space between the midfield and defense and got the ball. He dribbled past a defender and unloaded a shot from the edge of the box that skimmed the top of the crossbar.
The referee blew the full-time whistle and Crestwood had suffered their first loss of the season to Westford 2-0. The Crestwood players walked off the pitch dejected, with Mason looking furious and Callum muttering a few angry words. Ethan had felt he let himself and the team down with his performance. He realized that he's only human and that the pressure of balancing football, school, and expectations had caught up to him. On the bus ride back Ethan stared out the window, thinking, "One game won't define me."