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  Copyright © 2017 by Andrea Montalbano

  Cover and internal design © 2017 by Sourcebooks, Inc.

  Cover illustration by Lucy Truman

  Sourcebooks and the colophon are registered trademarks of Sourcebooks, Inc.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without permission in writing from its publisher, Sourcebooks, Inc.

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Published by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc.

  P.O. Box 4410, Naperville, Illinois 60567-4410

  (630) 961-3900

  Fax: (630) 961-2168

  www.sourcebooks.com

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Montalbano, Andrea, author.

  Title: Out of bounds / Andrea Montalbano.

  Other titles: Lily out of bounds

  Description: Naperville, IL : Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, [2017] | Series: Soccer Sisters ; [1] | Originally published: New York : In This Together Media, 2012 under the title Lily out of bounds. | Summary: When newcomer Skylar joins the Brookville Breakers soccer team, Makena James ignores the Soccer Sisters code--and family rules--to try to win Skylar’s approval.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2016030784 | (13 : alk. paper)

  Subjects: | CYAC: Soccer--Fiction. | Teamwork (Sports)--Fiction. | Family life--Fiction.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.M76342 Out 2017 | DDC [Fic]--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016030784

  Contents

  Front Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Book Club Questions and Activities

  Meet our Soccer Sisters Ambassador Brandi Chastain!

  Soccer Sisters Organization

  Soccer Sisters Roster

  Glossary

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Back Cover

  This series is dedicated to Soccer Sisters everywhere.

  1

  Makena Walsh inhaled the smell of the sweet spring grass as a gentle breeze tickled her face and a drop of sweat rolled down her neck. Soccer was an awesome and simple game, and there was nothing in the world she loved more than being outside, playing with friends, kicking, and running free.

  But, as much as Makena loved playing soccer, she hated losing. And right now, all she could think about was the fact that her team was about to lose the league championship. Slowly, she released her breath with a loud sigh. A sigh that ended up sounding a lot more like a groan.

  A sharp voice jolted her back to reality.

  “Hey, Mac, thanks for the commentary. How about listening to me tell you how you and your teammates are going to turn this game around?”

  Makena looked up to see Coach Lily and every one of her teammates staring at her as they sat in the halftime huddle. A few of her friends started to chuckle.

  “Sorry, Coach. I am listening,” she muttered lamely, grabbing her water bottle.

  “Good,” her coach answered, with just a hint of a smile. “Now listen up. For the second half, we’ll start like this: Val, up front. Makena, you stay in the midfield. Chloe, on the outside. And, Jessie, you’ll drop back to right back. Everyone else stays the same. Got it?”

  There was a murmur of agreement from the team as they all got to their feet. They started to shuffle back to the field, but Makena had a pit in her stomach.

  Her best friend, Val Flores, walked up beside her.

  “Well, here we go again,” she said as the two girls walked side by side.

  Makena responded, “I cannot believe we are losing to…”

  “The Leewood Lions… Roar, roar, roar.” Val finished her sentence with a mock cheer. Makena smiled. Even in her most dire moments, Val could find a way to make her laugh.

  “What is it with this team? Every time we play them, we fall apart,” Makena said. “I just don’t get it.”

  Val stopped to adjust her shin guard and retie her cleats as Makena surveyed the other team across the field. The Lions wore red-and-black-striped uniforms and were taking their positions on the other side of the pitch. Several of them were bouncing on their toes, and Makena thought they looked pretty smug.

  “Well, they certainly don’t give up,” Val said. This was the third time they had faced the Lions, and in every previous match, the Breakers had given up a lead to lose or tie. So far, today was no different. After scoring an early easy goal, they were now losing 2 to 1.

  We’ve got to find a way to turn this around, Makena thought.

  “Well, here we go,” Jessie said, jogging up from behind, “Danger vu all over again.”

  Val looked up at Jessie, squinting through the afternoon sun with a puzzled look.

  “Danger what now?” Makena asked. “Jessie, what the heck is danger vu?”

  “You know, when you’ve seen something before that’s kind of scary and it’s happening again. Danger vu.”

  Makena just shook her head, smiling. Typical Jessie. If Val was the one friend who could make Makena laugh in a crisis, Jessie was her one buddy certain to say something dopey. Good thing she’s such a good defender, Makena thought to herself.

  Val rolled her eyes, stood up, and laughed, “Déjà vu. Déjà vuuuuu.”

  “Whatev,” Jessie said. “All I know is we are losing to this stupid team again.”

  Losing was not something Makena’s team, the Brookville Breakers, was used to. As one of the top travel teams in their state, the Breakers had had an undefeated season so far. Well, that is, not counting the loss and tie to Leewood in the fall.

  “They aren’t even that good,” Makena muttered.

  “Yeah, but they are dirty,” Val said. Makena nodded in agreement, rubbing her thigh where their center forward had kneed her early in the game.

  “Look alive, ladies!” a voice boomed from the sidelines. Makena turned to see Coach Lily pacing near the bench on the sideline after giving some last-minute advice to Chloe Gordon, one of their forwards. Chloe sprinted out to the group, looking as graceful as ever.

  “Oh man,” she said as she reached them. “I’ve never seen Coach so stressed out before.”

  “Really?” Makena peered to the sideline. Coach Lily was intense but usually pretty calm.

  It was time to start, but Makena felt like someone or something else was missing. She looked around at her team. They were all here: Val, Chloe, Jessie, Ariana, Sydney, Kat, Harper, Tessa, Jasmine, Ella, and
Abby.

  Suddenly, it hit her. The Breakers had forgotten to do their halftime cheer.

  “Guys! Bring it in! Quick!” she called. Makena was like most soccer players: very superstitious. Not doing their cheer would definitely seal their fate.

  All the Breakers sprinted to form a circle. Every girl put a hand into the center.

  “We can do this,” Makena said. “We can’t give up.”

  “You know that’s what Coach just told me, right?” Chloe asked with a grin.

  Ariana, the goalie, stood up tall to mimic, “You have to give one hundred percent effort one hundred percent of the time, girls. And not just for thirty minutes…” She paused, and the rest of the team joined in, “For thirty-one minutes!”

  Makena and the rest of the girls laughed. They all knew Coach Lily’s sayings by heart. Sometimes they even spilled into Makena’s dreams: Win every ball. Play until the whistle blows. Leave it on the field.

  “Coach is right,” Val chimed in with a serious voice. “We can’t give up and let these guys beat us again. We are better.”

  The referee blew his whistle to signal the girls to take their places and start the second half. The Lions were in position, and everyone was waiting. But the Breakers ignored the referee and lingered in their circle a moment longer.

  “We’ve got this, Breakers,” Makena said to her friends and teammates. “We can do this. But we have to do it together.”

  “Team!” Val echoed.

  “OK, Breakers on three,” Makena said, searching for the fire in the eyes of her teammates. Makena looked at Ariana. She saw the spark in the goalie’s eyes. She saw the determination on Val’s face. The sick feeling began to turn to butterflies of excitement. She started to believe maybe they could…no, they would do this.

  Makena inhaled and yelled in her loudest voice, “One, two, three!”

  Her teammates answered her call. In one voice they yelled, “BREAKERS!”

  It was the Breakers’ turn to kick off. Chloe and Val immediately attacked down the middle. Val got open and dribbled forward into space. She went to shoot, but a Lion defender tackled her hard. Val tumbled to the ground, and the referee whistled for a foul.

  “Are you out of your mind?” a parent yelled from the sideline. “You need glasses, ref! That little butterfly took a dive.”

  Makena glared at the man. Val would never take a dive. She was small for her age but as tough as they came. Makena recognized a father from the other team. He’d been to all their games, and just like last time, his face was red with anger and his arms raised and flexed. Why do some parents think that yelling at the ref helps their children in any way? It was just embarrassing for everyone.

  Chloe raced over to help Val up. “You OK?”

  “I’m good,” Val said, peering to the sidelines. “Oh, I see Musclehead is back. Let’s beat these guys.”

  Val restarted the ball quickly, but the Lions were ready to pounce, sending a long, looping pass over the top of the Breakers’ defense. Jessie was caught off guard, and the Lion striker, a tall, dark-haired girl with amazing speed, took off down the line. If she cut inside, she would be one-on-one with the goalie. Oh, no, Makena thought. She sprinted back toward her own goal, keeping an eye on Jessie giving chase.

  Makena loved the feel of her strong legs as she sprinted down the field. Jessie was able to gain some ground, but Makena knew it was up to her to intercept any cross or pass in front of the goal. The Lion attacker got to the corner and made a beautiful turn to the inside. With her right foot, she crossed the ball into the middle of the field. It was on the ground, and that meant it was very dangerous. All it would take was a deflection to redirect it past the goalie. Not even awesome Ariana would have a chance to save it. Makena spotted an incoming player, number fourteen, making a run toward the ball.

  Makena’s legs burned and her chest ached, but she couldn’t stop. She wouldn’t.

  “Get number fourteen!” Chloe yelled.

  Number fourteen arrived as the ball rolled across the face of the goal. Makena had to win it but without tripping or pushing. She was so tired but willed her legs to keep going.

  Time seemed to slow for Makena, and her soccer instincts took over. She jumped and reached out her foot to block the shot. It wasn’t enough to stop the ball, but it was enough to pop it up into the air.

  “Keeper’s ball!” Ariana yelled, running forward.

  But the ball was spinning and, as it hit the ground, shot to the side and slipped out of Ariana’s grasp. It bounced free in front of the goal. Makena scrambled to her feet, and it was a race to see who could get to the ball first.

  “Away! Away! Away!” Coach Lily yelled. “Clear the ball!”

  “Shoot!” she heard the other team’s sideline cry.

  But Ariana recovered. She jumped at the bouncing ball and smothered it with her body. All Makena could see was her curled back with the number one on it. She sighed with relief and leaned on the goalpost to catch her breath. That was close. Way too close. She lifted her head to see all the Breakers sharing the same look of anxiety.

  Everyone except Ariana.

  When she finally lifted her head, Makena saw a little smirk.

  Sometimes in soccer it just takes that one moment to turn things around. One amazing save or one great play or even dumb luck can change a game’s momentum. In this case, it was that smirk. There was something in her look that Makena recognized: Ariana wasn’t giving up.

  And neither was she.

  “Play on!” the referee called.

  Ariana stood and gave the signal that she was going to punt. The girls on both teams backed up. Val moved all the way to half-field and waited for the ball. But Makena hung back close to Ariana, pretending to be too out of breath. As soon as both teams were far upfield, Ariana rolled the ball directly to Makena’s foot. The Lions reacted by pressing forward as a team, trying to steal the ball from her. Makena took a touch, lifted her head, and saw Val making a run. She launched the ball deep up the sideline into the space. Val timed it perfectly so she didn’t even have to break her stride. Before the Lions knew what had happened, Val was one-on-one against the goalie. She dribbled into the box and shot. Hard and low and right into the back of the net.

  Goal!

  “Yes!” Makena cried as all the Breakers ran to hug Val. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Coach Lily raise her fist. The Breakers parents cheered, and Makena laughed when Jessie’s dad tumbled out of his folding chair mid-yell.

  “Way to go, Breakers!” he yelled from the ground.

  It was now or never.

  “OK, guys. There are only a few minutes left in the game. If we tie, they win the league. If we win, the trophy is ours. We’ve worked too hard to let this slip away to this team again,” Makena said to her teammates. Practices three times a week all fall, tournaments all winter, and an intense spring season. This was it. All their effort and commitment was on the line.

  It was Leewood’s turn to restart the ball. Makena looked to the sideline to her coach. She held up her hand. Five fingers. Five minutes left. Five minutes to dig deep. But like in all their previous matches, the Lions came back strong. Everyone knew the clock was ticking. The Breakers started working upfield. The Lions only needed a tie to win the league, so they were happy to waste time and kept kicking the ball out of bounds.

  Makena felt the excitement rising.

  “Come on, Breakers!” one of the parents called.

  Chloe sprinted to retrieve the ball. She had to get it back in play.

  “Chloe!” Val called as she made a run to the center of the box. Val got the ball at her feet. But she had to fight to keep it. She was swarmed by defenders and was being jostled by the Lions’ center defender. The girl was a head taller than Val and looked like she could be in high school. Just as she went to shoot, the center defender tackled her hard. Val went fly
ing and the whistle blew. Foul.

  Makena held her breath to see if the referee would award a penalty kick.

  He didn’t. Instead, he picked up the ball and placed it just outside the eighteen-yard box and pointed toward the goal. Makena knew that meant that while it was a free kick, the Lion defenders were allowed to stand in front of the ball and form a wall to try to block the shot.

  Makena looked to the sideline but already knew what she would see. Her coach was holding up three fingers. The Lion players started whispering. They knew there were only a few seconds left in the game. The referee was looking at his watch. This had to be the last play of the game.

  “Why is she holding up three fingers?” Makena heard one girl ask. Another said, “Their coach doesn’t even know how much time is left.”

  But every one of the Breakers knew that Coach Lily knew exactly how much time was left and what she wanted them to do. Her three fingers in the air weren’t how much time was left but the sign that she wanted to use play number three, the one they had been working on so much in practice.

  Makena could hear her coach’s voice in her head. Keep your eye on the ball, and when you strike it, keep your head down or it will fly over the goal. Val and Abby stood next to the ball, chatting like they were not paying attention. Makena stood back and to the right, and Chloe lined up as the kicker. She studied the wall of Lions players standing just ten yards in front of her.

  The whistle blew, and Chloe moved toward the ball as if to shoot, but instead she leapt over the ball and ran toward the wall. The Lions’ defense was taken by surprise. The wall froze in place, watching Chloe instead of the ball. Just then, Val tapped the ball through Jessie’s legs, and it rolled to the right of the wall. It was perfect. Makena blocked out the screams and focused. She kept her head down and blasted a shot. The goalie never even moved. Makena felt the release and watched as the ball flew through the air and into the upper-right corner, slamming into the back of the net.

  Goal!

  The Lions were king of this jungle no more.

  The girls rushed one another, colliding and falling to the ground in a heap of squealing joy. The whistle blew, and the Breakers from the sideline joined the pile on the ground hugging and laughing.