Soccer Duel by Matt Christopher Read Free Book Online Page A

would be a pushover, Bryce thought, trying to make himself feel better. With Renny Harding out of the way, I'm sure to get the MVP trophy. And Coach Harrelson will be there to watch, so I'll have another chance to impress him — this time without Renny Harding around to spoil everything.
    On the surface, things were working out just right. So why did he feel so miserable about it? Why couldn't he shake off this horrible guilty feeling?
    The whistle blew, and Bryce looked up. The game had begun. Good. A chance to forget his troubles for a while.
    Just so long as Turk didn't hurt the kid …

11
    R enny was riding high. His plan for an all-out rush into the Crush zone right at the opening whistle had paid off, big-time. The Crush defenders were taken off guard, faced with a five-man rush before they'd even gotten set. The result was an easy goal by Renny and a 1-0 lead before the first minute of the game was past.
    “Now we go back to our normal set,” Renny told his fellow frontliners. “Hold your positions. But just keep kicking it downfield every time. We have to keep the play in their end!”
    The whistle blew and play resumed, with the Orange Crush advancing with the ball. Knowing that a long lack was coming the moment one of the Blue Hornets got a foot on it, Renny snuck downfield, behind the Crush attack but just outside the Crush zone, so he wouldn't be called offside. There. Any minute now…
    “Ooof!” Suddenly Renny went flying through the air, hit by what felt like a battering ram. He landed with a thud, banging his left knee against the hard, dry turf. He got up slowly and looked around to see Turk Walters retreating back into his own zone.
    Renny tried to put some weight on the knee. It hurt, and he limped around, trying to walk off the blow. He waved to the ref for a whistle, but the ref didn't see him. He called to the coach to take him out.
    “Gotta get a whistle first!” Coach McMaster called back. “You okay?”
    Renny shook his head, then tried to run over to the sideline so he could get out of the way of the oncoming rush.
    “Injury time-out!” Coach McMaster yelled as the ref ran past. The ref blew his whistle, and Renny limped across the line, then flopped to the ground.
    His knee was bleeding, but it didn't look too bad. From the receding pain, Renny sensed that he'd be okay in a minute or so, and that was what he told the coach. “I got fouled,” he said. “But I'm okay.”
    “Okay, I'll get you back in there,” the coach said. “Meanwhile, clean that off and get a bandage on it. Here's the first aid kit.”
    Renny did as he was told. He ripped open a cleansing pad and washed the cut, then covered it with a large padded bandage. Finishing the job, he glanced up at the bleachers. There, among the parents and other spectators, sat Bryce McCormack.
    Bryce had his chin in his hands, so that his mouth was covered. He was looking right at Renny with horrified eyes. Renny waved to him, letting Bryce know he was okay. But Bryce didn't acknowledge him. He just sat there staring, with that weird look on his face.
    A roar went up from the other side of the field. “Oh, no!” Jordan Woo moaned. “Curt Kelly scored a goal for them — he just mowed our defense right down! Man, were gonna lose now for sure. These guys are just too big for us.”
    Renny didn't take the time to dignify Jordan's comment with a rebuke. Instead, he swung around toward where the coach was standing. “I'm back in!” he shouted.
    “Substitution, ref!” the coach yelled, then waved Renny onto the field. “Cooper, take a rest!” he called, motioning for Ellis Cooper, one of the defensemen, to come out.
    “Coach, let me in at center striker!” Renny protested. “They're just trying to intimidate me!”
    “Let's see how you move around first,” the coach replied. “I don't want you getting hurt.”
    Renny kicked the dirt in frustration, then trotted onto the field, refusing to let his pain show. There was no limp