what I liked

German MC (I‘m German myself so it was fun to read about someone with German roots)
Matthias was very easy to like, he’s very sweet but also not a pushover. I really like when genuine nice guys also know how to stand up for themselves. (<spoiler> when he told Casey to stop being an asshole to him whenever things don’t go his way I was like yesss tell him</spoiler>)
the teammates were great guys, I really liked their friendship with each other. Even though Matthias was the new guy he was integrated into the team and the friend group very seamlessly
how they tried to make the sport more inclusive. I liked the discussions during Pride Night about it being a performance vs representation and support and how sometimes it’s kinda both
the little gestures Casey started to make (<spoiler>he cooked him something for his birthday and bought him his favourite snack like tell him you‘re in love with him already</spoiler>)
that there wasn’t a too competitive vibe between the two goalies. They were a team and supporting and rooting for each other

what I didn’t like

in the beginning, I was having a hard time with the writing style. I usually like third-person view but in this case, I had trouble connecting with the story. Also, the repeated use of the MC's names was more noticeable to me than usual
Casey’s behaviour was ridiculous and went on way too long. Also, his explanation as to why he did it wasn’t really that satisfactory to me
I wished the book was a little bit longer. At about 95% things started to really unfold between them and thus the ending felt a little rushed. I love slow-burn romance so I was very happy with how things were going but after the slow I also want the burn. So I would have liked to read a little bit more about them getting together (and not just <spoiler> a talk about trying to date and a double date after a time jump</spoiler>)

Caught Off Guard