Andrew laughed. "So little faith, Nicky. Don't worry. She'll play."

It was a show of support from the least expected corner. Andrew smiled in the face of his teammates' shock and suspicion. He didn't bother to explain where his confidence came from but lifted his hands and gestured at the strikers to either side of him.

"Really, you should be more worried about these two lunatics."

"That's what I want to talk about," Wymack said, moving to stand in front of the TV. "Dan and I spent this week figuring out the best way to deal with the striker line. You know I can't get us a sub yet. Kevin's played full halves before, but not since last fall. I don't think you've ever tried," Wymack said, and nodded when Neil shook his head. "Neither one of you can play an entire game in the state you're in now. We'll have to work you up to that one week at a time.

"In the meantime, we're mixing things up to stay afloat." Wymack glanced at Dan and Renee, who hadn't yet gotten off Allison's chair to join Matt on the couch. "Our solution isn't pretty, but it's the best we can come up with on such short notice, so pay attention."

His clipboard was sitting on the entertainment center. He picked it up, flipped a couple pages, and began reading. "The starting line-up for tonight's first half goes as follows: Andrew, Matt, Nicky, Allison, Kevin, Neil. First half subs: Aaron for Nicky, Dan for Kevin, Renee for Allison."

"Wait." Nicky shot Renee a startled look. "What?"

Wymack held up one hand to cut Nicky off. "Second half line-up: Aaron, Nicky, Allison, Kevin, Dan. Matt's on for Nicky, Neil's on for Dan, and Renee's on for Allison again." He let go of the papers and looked up. "Tell me you got that, because I'm not repeating it."

"Is that a joke, Coach?" Nicky asked. "Renee's a goalkeeper."

"Dan's the only one who can fill in for the striker line," Renee said, "and Allison is going to be touch and go for a while. Coach and I talked about it on Tuesday, so I've had some time to modify our extra gear. I know I haven't played defense since middle school, but I'll give it my best shot."

"Please don't take this the wrong way, but it's not you I'm worried about," Nicky said. "If you're going to play dealer who do we have in goal second half?"

Wymack looked at Andrew. Andrew looked over his shoulder as if checking for a third goalkeeper. There wasn't one, so he quirked an eyebrow at Wymack and dragged his thumb across his smiling mouth.

"Coach knows my medicine doesn't work that way."

"I know," Wymack said.

"What are you telling me to do?"

"I'm not telling you anything," Wymack said. "We had a deal and I'm not about to renege on that. I'm offering a trade, same terms and conditions as last year. Abby picked the bottle up yesterday and put it in the first aid kit. It's yours as soon as you walk off the court. All you have to do is play. How you play is up to you."