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Watch mom chase down 2-year-old who bolted onto field during pro soccer game in Ohio

Staff Photojournalist Sam Greene at The Cincinnati Enquirer was able to capture the hilarious moment and posted a couple photos on his Twitter @SGdoesit
Staff Photojournalist Sam Greene at The Cincinnati Enquirer was able to capture the hilarious moment and posted a couple photos on his Twitter @SGdoesit Twitter screen grab from @SGdoesit

An Ohio mom is receiving a ton of attention and admiration for parenting her young toddler — in front of a crowd of thousands of soccer fans.

And she didn’t even have to hold up a red card.

Morgan Tucker took her 2-year-old son, Zaydek, Saturday to see his first soccer game, a match between FC Cincinati vs. Orlando.

Zaydek managed to give his mom the slip and darted out onto the field during a play — and that’s when Tucker went from fan to super mom as she quickly dashed after him.

“We hope this mother and her young pitch invader are having a great day,” the main @MLS account on Twitter said when posting the video of Tucker, sliding to nab Zaydek.

I literally looked away for one second and saw he was under the fence and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh,’” Tucker said to Good Morning America. “I had to jump over the gate and then sprinted after him.”

The athletic slide-and-grab quickly captured the attention of social media, who praised the mom for her quick thinking and athletic moves.

Tucker said Zaydek was thrilled with himself after stealing the spotlight from the players.

“When I got him back over the fence I said, ‘What were you doing?,’ and he said, ‘Mom, soccer ball.’

“He was really into the game and when the players would go to the other side of the field, he was not happy, so he wanted them to be there with him,” Tucker said to GMA.

Even though the game itself ended in a 1-1 draw, it was Zaydek and his mom who walked away winners that night.

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This story was originally published August 10, 2021 at 3:28 PM with the headline "Watch mom chase down 2-year-old who bolted onto field during pro soccer game in Ohio."

TJ Macias
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
TJ Macías is a Real-Time national sports reporter for McClatchy based out of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. Formerly, TJ covered the Dallas Mavericks and Texas Rangers beat for numerous media outlets including 24/7 Sports and Mavs Maven (Sports Illustrated). Twitter: @TayloredSiren
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