That first season was a rough one. What the team lacked in experience, it made up for in injuries: Ellie sat out most of the season with a pulled hamstring. The woman who organized the team tore her ACL. Bruises and sprained ankles were so commonplace, they didn't elicit much sympathy after awhile. The team lost most of their games. Still, they had a great time, unabashed or possibly unaware of how bad they really were.

The fall season went much better. Ellie's hamstring never fully recovered, but she learned how to manage the injury and keep it from getting worse. Complaining about it frequently to me seemed to help a lot. The team got better too. More times than not, kicking at the ball actually resulted in connecting with it. There were fewer injuries, as they learned to control the speed and direction of their bodies. They won a few more games. And, they discovered that it's okay to play like guys.

That's undoubtedly why Ellie and her teammates are getting such a charge out of the sport. It's the only time most of them have ever done something where pushing, shoving, and kicking is expected, and they love it. Off the field, they're the sweetest, most loving, good-natured moms you'll ever hope to meet. On the field, they become fearsome competitors, transformed by the pure joy of sanctioned aggression. It's a window into the aging female psyche that frankly, their husbands find a bit unsettling. Watching a women's soccer match, you get the sense that you shouldn't yell at these women from the sideline. In their hyper-intense state of competition, they just might abandon their positions and come after you.

This spring, the team rocked. They got new uniforms and lost only two games. No one got seriously hurt (not counting the two women who got pregnant and had to quit). Best of all, Ellie scored the first soccer goal of her life. The kids and I were hugely proud of her.

Ordinarily, Ellie plays defense. She's a natural at that position, because she never quite knows where she should be, so she compensates by trying to be everywhere at once. The apparent randomness confuses the heck out of the opposing forwards. This particular game, when the score was embarrassingly in our favor, the coach took pity and decided to shake up the line-up. He moved Ellie to forward and she soon found herself unexpectedly in the right place at the right time.

No one in our family actually saw the goal, however. I was out of town and the kids who were at the game weren't watching. As usual, they were off playing with the other kids. Soccer only holds their interest when they are playing it--and sometimes, not even then.

From all accounts though (mostly Ellie's), it was a spectacular goal.

Ellie rushed a loose ball in front of the goal just as the goalie dove for it. Her foot got to the ball a split second before the goalie, and the ball scooted into the net. In the process, Ellie kneed the goalie in the neck, tripped, and landed rather ungracefully on top of her. When they untangled themselves, Ellie was fine but the goalie was hurt and lay on the ground a few minutes to make sure everyone knew it. This led to some trash-talking, a little shoving, and then the inevitable bench-clearing brawl at midfield.

Okay, so that last part didn't actually happen, but a woman on the other team did threaten our goalie. That made no sense at all because first, our goalie had nothing to do with the play, and second, she isn't somebody you mess with. Luckily, she was in a charitable mood and no blood was shed.

But the confrontation shows just how seriously these women take the sport.

The team will be back again in the fall, possibly in a more advanced division now that they're on a roll. I've developed a healthy new respect for Ellie after seeing her out there mixing it up with the other women. I'll be supporting her quietly from the sidelines.

When our kids scored their first soccer goals, we bought them each a Beanie Baby. I'm going to continue the tradition and buy one for Ellie.

I think I'll get her a tiger.

Dave Kehmeier is a stay-at-home dad and lives with his wife and kids in Almaden Valley.