One Goal

A Coach, a Team, and the Game That Brought a Divided Town Together

By: Amy Bass

Narrated by: Will Collyer, Amy Bass

In the tradition of Friday Night Lights and Outcasts United, One Goal tells the inspiring story of the soccer team in a town bristling with racial tension that united Somali refugees and multi-generation Mainers in their quest for state -- and ultimately national -- glory.

When thousands of Somali refugees resettled in Lewiston, Maine, a struggling, overwhelmingly white town, longtime residents grew uneasy. Then the mayor wrote a letter asking Somalis to stop coming, which became a national story. While scandal threatened to subsume the town, its high school's soccer coach integrated Somali kids onto his team, and their passion began to heal old wounds. Taking readers behind the tumult of this controversial team -- and onto the pitch where the teammates vied to become state champions and achieved a vital sense of understanding -- One Goal is a timely story about overcoming the prejudices that divide us.

Critic reviews

"The perfect parable for our time."
—Jane Leavy, The Wall Street Journal

"A magnificent and significant book about soccer in the United States...at once a stark look at the lives of the Somali refugees and a serious study of why soccer matters as a link between disparate cultures and peoples....Some of the vignettes of life for these refugees are as unforgettable as any heart-stopping game."—The Globe & Mail

"Amy Bass tells a story that encompasses many of the things people love about sports, but also epitomizes many of the reasons sports matter."—Bob Costas

"In this noisy era of glib hot-takes and childish finger-pointing, it's too easy to forget that the national character--hardworking, immigrant-fueled, optimistic--was built from the bottom up. Let Amy Bass remind you. Let her take you to our frosty upper righthand corner, to Lewiston, Maine, where quiet heroes like Mike McGraw, Abdi H. and the magical Blue Devils show again just how it's done. This is not just a great story, deftly reported and unflinchingly told. It's not just a story of one obscure high school season. It's the American story, just when you feared that it might be fading fast, renewed."—S.L. Price, Sports Illustrated Senior Writer and author of PlayingThrough The Whistle: Steel, Football and an American Town

"A lively, informative, and entertaining...underdog story that skillfully blends elements of human compassion, passion for a sport, determination, and endurance with overtones of societal pressure and racism. It's an exhilarating narrative that shows how perseverance and the ability to disregard the narrow-mindedness of xenophobia can lead to victory....An edifying and adrenaline-charged tale."
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"At a time when America seems consumed by divisiveness and hate, along comes One Goal, a beautiful and important reminder that humanity's strength is its togetherness. Yes, on the surface this is a soccer book. But Amy Bass' work is so much more. It's about overcoming odds, about embracing differences, about the triumph of will and spirit. A true gem of a book."—Jeff Pearlman, New York Times bestselling author of The Bad Guys Won and Gunslinger

"A story that is not only relevant to our national discourse, but essential. This is a book about the big 'isms,' but it is most of all a book about human beings, compellingly and movingly rendered."
—Jeremy Schaap, New York Times bestselling author of Cinderella Man

"A touching work showing how different groups can come together through sports"—Library Journal, Best Books of the Year

Check pronunciations!

This is a great story. I worked across the river in Auburn during this season, and I was oblivious to all of it. I appreciate learning about it.

However, the narrator struggled with pronouncing names (but surprisingly NOT most of the Somali names--the typical French names that are much more common!) and towns. It won't affect most listeners' experience, but we Mainahs will cringe every time.

Highly recommended.

I can’t imagine this terrific story told any better. A wonderful listen all around, even if you’re not especially interested in soccer.

she knows

She knows soccer, and the feeling of those who play it. Well worth the read...

Fun listening. True Story of a tough road to acceptance.

Important story of tolerance (though not assimilation) disguised in a fun setting of soccer. The story is especially fun for soccer aficionados (which unfortunately I am not, hence the 4 rather than 5 stars).

Phenomenal story and a Message for Our Times

This is a story about people learning to learn to appreciate diversity in community, a message so important hear says that I’m planning on requiring it as a text in my first year college class. The descriptions are vivid and the author helps readers feel we know the people and experience this odyssey with them. Highly recommend…even if you don’t care about soccer!