Goooooaaaaaal!

Ava had the last game of her second season of soccer today. In her "Dribblers" age group for Cincinnati Cardinals, it's 4v4 with no keepers. She has come a long way.

In the spring, Ava had a lot of fun, but her play consisted of running near the action and then jumping around in excitement. Every once in a while she would kick the ball if it hit her foot. Although she knew how to dribble and kick, the whole game concept was tough for her, being her first season. Hey, at least she didn't sit down and pick grass and dandelions - she was in the action the whole time!

In the fall, we upgraded coaches and got an official team name and uniform: the Tie-Dye Tigers. At first, Ava graduated from jumping in excitement to trailing the action and then sprinting back on defense and planting herself in the goal to block any shots. After much coaching from Dad, she realized that the concept of defense wasn't to just camp out in the goal. She also started to attack the ball and made some great plays. One cross to a teammate for a goal gave her the most beautiful assist of the season! Her coach even ran on the field and gave her a high five!

However, that first goal eluded her. We talked about it before games and she knew today was her last chance this season. So we provided the proper pump-up music before the game and Mom, Dad, Molly, Grandma and Grandpa set up on the sidelines to cheer her on. Early in the second half it came - a dribble through the other team near midfield for a breakaway! Just like her Dad used to do on a regular basis back in the day! The look on her face was priceless after it went in - kind of a mix of surprise and confusion. Probably because of the wild cheers from her fans! Of course, once the first one went in, she went right down and scored #2. Now she just wants to know when next season begins!