Special Moment Of Sportsmanship A Thrill For Avon Field Hockey Player

AVON, CT — A freshman field hockey player from Avon High School scored a special goal in a Sept. 27 game against East Catholic, made possible by the selfless sportsmanship of some opposing Eagle players.

Kaylie Murphy, who has autism and had never played field hockey prior to this season, went into the game in the third quarter with the Falcons holding a 5-0 lead.

"We threw a lot of our players in who haven't had a lot of varsity playing time," Avon coach Terri Ziemnicki said. "We felt this is going to be the time for Kaylie to also get in and play with the team."

Ziemnicki had not said anything to the East Catholic team about Kaylie's situation, but the visitors figured it out.

"They saw my players working with her," Ziemnicki said. "Kaylie was hitting the ball and everyone was cheering Kaylie on, and then the ball was brought into the circle right in front of the goal. The girls were saying, 'Kaylie, hit the ball, hit the ball' so Kaylie hit the ball towards the goal, and at that moment, the East Catholic goalie stepped aside so the ball would go in the net. Everybody on the field - both teams - started cheering for Kaylie."

East Catholic goalkeeper Bree Upton, a junior from Vernon, said, "We realized it wasn't about us, it wasn't about winning or losing. It was about making the night special for her. We did everything to give her the moment that she deserved. I think it's an amazing reflection of what we learn at school and what our morals are as a team. Even though it's not our team, it's a team person and you have to do what's right for her."

"Nobody told the goalie to do that, nobody told the players to cheer each other on," Ziemnicki said. "They did that all by themselves. The gesture of kindness is like nothing I've ever seen in my 38 years of coaching."

At the game's conclusion, Ziemnicki singled out Upton for praise, telling her, "I saw what you did, and you have so much class."

"When I got off the field, my mom hugged me and said how proud she was, and she told us how everyone on the sidelines was so excited," Upton said. "[Kaylie's] mom was crying and my mom was crying. It was so heartwarming because I was able to do something that would have such a big impact on someone, and their community and even our community too."

Ziemnicki said, "I know Kaylie's parents were so proud and so excited, and at the end of the game, we gave Kaylie the game ball. It was really great to be a part of it.

"This is high school sports, and the bottom line is this is what high school athletics should be all about."