After a great second place finish at the Western Regional, we on the Arizona Heat 2nd Degree were feeling really good about our chances at this year’s national tournament. However, those hopes were dampened slightly when we found out that one of us wasn’t going to be able to make the trip. It would change our game plan a bit, but we still felt strong heading to Indianapolis.
Arriving at the airport, another member of our team showed up extremely ill, but he decided to make the trek anyway. He wanted to be there for the rest of us and he was sacrificing his health for the team. When the team arrived in Indianapolis, it was decided that our sick teammate was too sick and needed immediate medical attention. A trip to the hospital now left us with only four players. Despite the circumstances, we had to carry on.
The first day of the tournament was particularly challenging because we were playing with a different line up and we had never played against the other teams. Unfortunately the two games against the RHI Indy Cruisers and North Georgia Screamin’ Eagles resulted in two heavy losses, but we knew that there was still plenty of soccer left to be played. Off the court, our teammate who fell ill was being kept in the hospital, so we knew we had to continue without him on Friday. That 8am game on Friday morning against the DASA Firecrackers was difficult and we played hard, but it was not enough to pull out a victory. We had one last chance on Friday to win, but the Ball State Fury had other ideas. Once again, we fought hard and did everything we could, but fell short.
At this point, we were winless but were not defeated. We would have one last chance at victory on Saturday, the last day of the tournament. We were excited when we found out who our final opponent would be. After beating them 5-1 on the first day of the Western Regional, the BORP Bay Crushers would rebound and win the tournament with a 1-0 victory against us. Our last game would be a chance for redemption. In addition, we had heard that our sick teammate was out of the hospital and was eager to play. This made the last game even more special for us. It felt great to step out on the court for the last game with our teammate who had been sick. Everyone played great and it showed. After scoring only one goal over the first two days, we broke out for five on the final day and notched a 5-2 victory.
Although he had to deal with the hardship of being in the hospital, our teammate never gave up hope of getting back out on the court. As a team, we carried that same attitude with us throughout the weekend. Despite all the setbacks, giving up was not an option. The final result of the tournament may not have turned out the way we wanted, but persevering through the adversity and knowing that everyone on our team refused to quit is a victory we can all proudly claim.
By Anthony Jackson
