Hunter’s Emmett Kim (c.) cries out in pain after getting injured while scoring his team’s third goal of the game. (christina sanyucci)
Ella Kim’s initial reaction was elation. It was soon followed by worry, then uneasiness, and later relief.
As the Beacon sophomore midfielder prepared for the PSAL Class A girls final, she saw her brother, Emmett, score Hunter College HS’s third and final goal in the PSAL Class B title game, won by the Hawks, 3-0, but go down in a heap after colliding with the keeper, his right leg broken.
“I was really happy when he scored,” she said. “But I realized soon after that he wasn’t getting up.”
After a long delay Emmett was taken off the field in a stretcher as his goal was announced to the applauding crowd and the two teams, wheeled into an ambulance and taken to nearby hospital with his father, Byron. His sister, meanwhile, remained at Belson Stadium, on the campus of St. John’s University in Queens, helping the top-seeded Blue Demons top No. 3 Tottenville, 2-0, for their second crown.
Ella did participate in the Blue Demons’ post-match celebration, but wasn’t able to hang around to see the Manhattan school’s boys team win its second title. Instead, she headed to make sure her brother was Ok.
“Before the game started it was really hard to come onto the field with all the negative energy,” she said. “It was upsetting. I just know I had to work for him. This was his last [high school soccer] game. It was amazing that both of us made it to a championship. It’s sad that he wasn’t able to see the game.”
While teammates celebrated the victory, Ella’s mind was elsewhere, thinking about her injured brother, who was the reason, the underclassman said, she got involved in soccer in the first place. She didn’t say much to her teammates about her brother’s injury, other than joking to coach Kevin Jacobs: “Now my parents won’t be here to watch my game.” Jacobs pulled her after a slow start, but following a quick breather, she returned to the field and never left.
“She is a really tough player, physically and mentally,” Beacon senior Sophie Kligler said. “We knew that she would pull through. We really didn’t need to say much. We just let her have her space. She came out and did a phenomenal job.”
The two often talk soccer around the house and were particularly motivated to go 2-for-2 on Sunday. Emmett enjoyed a solid season, helping Hunter to the Manhattan B-II crown with eight goals during the regular season and three in the playoffs while Ella started on one of the city’s elite squads.
Thought it was difficult to see her brother in so much pain, Ella never thought about leaving St. John’s.
“I knew I had to win,” she said.