From FIFA World Cup Champion, Olympic gold medalist, and bestselling author Alex Morgan comes the penultimate book in her empowering and fun-filled middle grade series! Devin is finally on her way to Connecticut to visit her best friend, Kara, and she couldn’t be more excited! Not only that, but the Kicks have just made it into the playoffs! Except Devin’s good fortune seems to have run out. First, the airport sends her luggage to Albuquerque. Then, when she finally gets to hang out with Kara, all they do is fight. And what’s worse, Devin thinks her parents are planning to move them back to Connecticut! Devin’s not sure what to make of her unfortunate homecoming. Are she and Kara even friends anymore? Is Devin ready to leave her team behind to move back to Connecticut? And can she get her head back in the game in time to win the Kicks’ first playoff match? Alex Morgan became the youngest member of the US women’s national soccer team in 2009 and competed in the 2011 FIFA World Cup. She was the first overall pick in the 2011 Women’s Professional Soccer draft and landed a spot on the US Olympic women’s soccer team in 2012. At the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, held in London, Morgan won her first Olympic medal, a gold, with the American team. In 2015, she achieved her lifelong goal of winning a World Cup trophy, in the most-watched soccer match in US history. She now plays for the Orlando Pride in Orlando, Florida. Chapter One Chapter One Adrenaline pumped through my body as I raced down the field. One of the Marlins was dribbling at rocket speed toward the Kicks goal, and none of our defending midfielders could catch up to her. With her hands on her knees in front of the goal, Emma waited for the ball, eyes alert. The score was tied, 17–17, and the clock was running down. Wham! The Marlin kicked the ball hard. Emma lunged for it, and it bounced off her gloved hands, careening back onto the field. The same player got control of it again. My friend Frida, a Kicks defender, charged up to her. Frida was an actor who pretended to be different characters to gain courage on the soccer field. Today she was a pirate. “Aaargh. We shall give no quarter to thieves who try to steal our pirate gold!” she yelled. Frida’s strange cry startled the Marlin, who stumbled just enough for Frida to kick the ball away from her. It went flying and landed between another Marlin and Zoe, who got to it first, which was not a surprise because she had some of the fastest moves I’ve ever seen. She dribbled toward the Marlins’ goal, with the player who missed out on the ball at her heels. I changed direction to get clear in case Zoe wanted to pass. She kicked it right to me just as the player behind her caught up to her. I got control of the ball and dribbled into Marlin territory. In twenty feet I’d be close enough to shoot … I saw a turquoise-and-white blur out of the corner of my left eye. One of the Marlins was coming at me fast. I turned and saw another defender charging toward me from the front. “Devin! Over here!” Jessi called to me from my right. I turned to face her and saw that she was clear. Wham! I sent the ball skidding across the grass. Jessi stopped it and zoomed toward the goal. I could hear our fans screaming in the stands. “Go, Jessi!” “Go, Kicks!” Jessi got within range and sent the ball soaring. I stopped, watching it fly through the air. The Marlins goalie jumped up to block it, but she fell short. It grazed the top of her fingers and slammed into the net. The ref blew her whistle. Game over! “The Kicks win!” somebody shouted. I ran to Jessi and slapped her on the back. “You were awesome!” She grinned at me. “ We were awesome, you mean,” she said. “Thanks for setting me up.” “No problem,” I said. We ran to line up with the rest of our teammates, to slap hands with the Marlins. I knew how much it hurt to lose—especially when a game was that close—and I could see the disappointment on their faces. After I slapped the last palm, I jogged back to the sideline where the Kicks were gathering. When everyone arrived, we huddled in a circle, jumping up and down with excitement. “Great game, everybody!” congratulated Grace, an eighth grader and my co-captain. Coach Flores approached us, and we broke up the circle. “Good work, girls!” she said. “This means we’ve made the playoffs!” We began yelling and cheering. “You all certainly earned it,” Coach continued as we quieted down. “The first playoff game is in two weeks, so our practice schedule is going to change a bit. Our weekday practices will continue. But there’s a break next weekend, with no regular games, so we’ll practice at ten a.m. that Saturday.” Megan, another eighth grader, raised her hand. “Do we know who we’re playing in the first game?” Coach shook her head. “No, but we’ll know when all of today’s games are finished. I’ll send out a group text when I get the word.” “This is great news,” said Grace. “Le