The most adorable game of soccer, evar!

Rosie's been playing soccer this season (see a previous post) with a local soccer club. When they were issued red jerseys, their coach asked them to choose a name based on the color. They picked "Bloodsuckers!" Um... well, that lasted about a day until the coach thought better of it and insisted they vote again.  The "Red Dragons" have played two games every Saturday, against two different teams in the club. A few weeks ago, she played another team in the club that her BFF Ava was on, as well as several of her 2nd-grade classmates. Mary Fowler, a professional sports photographer*, was there taking fantastic images of the girls in action. Below are just a few of many that featured Rosie (click on the images to see a larger size).

Ashley, Rosie, Ava (all three girls have been in ballet and tap class together since they were 4)

Janna, Savannah, Rosie (all in 2nd-grade class together)

When Savannah (on the opposing team) saw that Rosie was playing on their field, an amazing thing happened. She started cheering, "Let's Go, Rosie, Let's GO!"

 

  

 

Is Rosie waving at me? Her grandma maybe?

Nope, she's waving at her friend Elizabeth, on the opposing team.

It looks like Rosie's about to score here, but Ava defended her goal admirably.

In fact, after the goalie tossed the ball back into play (and Rosie ducked!), I saw Rosie go over to her friend to shake her hand, as if to say, "Great job, sweetie!" instead of following the ball with her teammates, that is. !

Rosie, Emily, and Ruth celebrating a goal.

Emily scored a goal during the game, but I'm pretty sure the overall score was a tie. They all had a great time and played very well against each other, with little or no competitiveness. I love that about recreational leagues.

*Mary Fowler mentioned to me that her fabulous photos are for sale at her smugmug site. She has a "Special Offers" category, wherein if you choose several sports images, she can print them all together, arranged as a collage, on one 11" x 17" sheet for one fixed fee.