POULSBO — Emma Keeling didn’t have to sacrifice herself for a goal save Wednesday night.

Archbishop Murphy was already up 4-0 in the second half of the state playoff game at North Kitsap Stadium before the 70th minute rolled around.

Rebounding back from a few tough losses at the end of the regular season, the Bucs found themselves battered and bruised under the stadium lights before the state playoff game began. Some Buccaneers were visibly limping. Senior Forward Kelly Nash wore a brace that covered most of her right leg.

Archbishop Murphy got a goal to start things off in the second minute of the game. Though the Bucs held them off from a second for a while, Archbishop Murphy soon found its rhythm, scoring in the 27th and 30th minutes before the end of the first half.

A goal in the 54th minute of the second half sealed the win for Archbishop, which moves on to play Bellingham in the second round of the State playoffs.

There was not going to be a comeback for the Bucs as the clock counted down. The team was not going to make it to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in program history.

So when the Archbishop Murphy offense sought its fifth goal, junior goalie Emma Keeling didn’t have to make the save.

Emma dove down to block the shot: saved. However, the ball came loose. Halfway across the field it was difficult to see what happened next. There was a battle for the ball; Emma was still on the ground with feet kicking around her. The play stopped; no goal was made. It wasn’t a game-saving stop. It wasn’t even to keep the game tied.

The clock stopped.

A sideline official said Emma was hit with the ball “square in the face” while she was on the ground protecting her goal.

After spending a few minutes on the ground, Emma was pulled up. Helped by her own team and an Archbishop Murphy coach, she was helped to the Bucs bench. Emma was pulled from the game.

Archbishop Murphy scored one last time in the 73rd minute before the whistle blew.

Standing on the sidelines — under her own power — with her teammates at the end of the game, Emma said why she did what she did.

“Every ball counts, and every moment of the game counts,” Emma said, draped in a blanket for warmth. “Just because we’re down, doesn’t mean that it doesn’t matter.”

For her efforts, Emma received a corneal abrasion and some bruises.

That’s what the 2013 Kingston Buccaneers were all about, Kingston head coach Craig Smith said. The team was focused; they looked forward. Because of that, they were successful.

“And they’re going to go down fighting,” Smith said.

The Bucs were one of two teams to survive the West Central District Tournament — the Olympic Trojans also advanced. Though the Kingston team lost three in a row before Districts, they pulled off a 1-0 win over Lindbergh for the second State appearance in program history. The team also had one of the best records in program history.

Even after the game against Archbishop Murphy ended, there were injuries on the field. Ashlynn McDonald lay on her back with an injured ankle. Smith said it probably isn’t broken, but she was going to go in for X-rays.

“Nobody let up out here,” Smith said.