I was just 16 years old, yet it felt like I had the weight of the world on my shoulders in that moment. Let me set the scene: our high school soccer team was playing for third place in state. After 90 minutes and extra time — in a game that included hail, rain, blustering wind, and sunshine — the score remained 0-0.
Penalties would decide our fate.
As a defender, I didn’t take a lot of shots, but my coach put his faith in me and four others. We missed our first, then made our second.