Read Fake Out for Free Online Page B

probably the fastest runner on the field.
    I’ll keep an eye on him
, Ben thought.
He’s dangerous
.
    And even though the Wolves didn’t pass nearly as much as the Bobcats, their two best players kept the game very close. It was true that teamwork could help overcome a stronger group of players, but sometimes one or two standouts could keep a team in a game.
    That proved to be the case during the rest of the first half. Ben, Jordan, and Kim worked well together, moving up the field several times and getting off a few shots. But the red-haired kid swooped in to take the ball away a fewtimes, and his teammate with the ponytail made several long runs with the ball.
    On defense, Erin stole the ball from the girl with the ponytail and kicked it hard toward midfield. Ben tried to chase it down, but it was too far away, and it rolled out of bounds.
    Ben put his hands on his knees and took a few deep breaths while the red-haired kid ran after the ball. The cold air was making it harder to breathe.
    “We’ve been running like mad,” Ben said to Kim.
    “Keep it up,” she said. “Sooner or later we’ll get a break.”
    But a throw-in brought the ball deep into the Bobcats’ zone, and the blue- and brown-shirted players scrambled after it. Darren kicked it up the field, and Ben took control. The field was open ahead of him except for that ponytailed girl.
    The grass was dry, so Ben knew he wouldn’t slip if he tried that fake. Things were set up perfectly. His opponent was steady in her stance, waiting for Ben to approach. He took another quick step with the ball, then shifted toward the sideline.
    The girl moved to block his path, and Ben brought his left foot over the ball. He stopped short, then tapped the ball away from the sideline with the outside of his foot. He charged up the field after it.
    But he hadn’t fooled her at all. Ben was off-balance as he tried to cut away, and the defender took control of the ball. She ran deep into the Bobcats’ zone with it and made a quick fake that left Erin standing still. And then the girl fired the ball past Shayna and into the goal.
    Ben shut his eyes and let out his breath hard. He’d almost made the fake, but somehow the defender had seen it coming. He caught up to Jordan and shook his head. “It’s like what you told me about Alex,” he said. “I looked where I was going and gave away the fake.”

    “Don’t worry about it,” Jordan said with a tight smile. “It’s still anybody’s game. Keep working.”
    The Bobcats had fallen behind again, despite all that hard work and good passing. And Ben had made another misstep trying to do that fake.
    They were trailing 2–1, and Ben knew that the second half would be an even tougher test than the first. And they couldn’t afford another loss. Not if they wanted to stay in the race for the play-offs.

CHAPTER TEN
Power and Speed

    Ben peeled an orange and sat on the bench between Erin and Jordan as they waited for the second half to begin. He didn’t feel cold anymore. The sun had come out but the air was still cool. It wasn’t the sun that had made him warm, though; it was all that running.
    “That team is fast,” he said.
    “So are we,” Jordan said. “This game will come down to who has more guts.”
    “Us!” Ben said.
    “It
should
be us,” Jordan replied. “Nobody works harder than we do.”
    Ben nodded. He thought back to the way Larry had run that cross-country race. He’d reached down deep and used every ounce of energy. Ben would do that, too.
    Ben looked across the field to the other bench, where the Wolves were gathered around their coach. They had two very good athletes on that team. And they’d both scored goals in the first half.
    Coach Patty announced the lineup for the second half: Omar as goalie; Mark, Erin, and Shayna on the front line; and Darren and Jordan on defense. She sent them onto the field.
    “This will be your last rest,” she said to Kim and Ben. “I’m hoping that we can tie