BOYS' SOCCER: SAUGUS STAR DOESN'T HAVE TO WATCH ERNSBERGER COMES BACK STRONG AFTER LOST SEASON.

Byline: Heather Gripp Staff Writer

SAUGUS - Kyle Ernsberger preferred to stick to math when he'd meet with Saugus High's boys' soccer coach Seth Groller last season. Groller, also a math teacher at the school, was helping home-school the player, who needed two surgeries and was confined for months in a wheelchair after braking a leg during football season.

Being reminded of what he was missing on the soccer field was almost as painful as the injury.

``He told me he couldn't go to the games,'' Groller said. ``It hurt too much to watch.''

Ernsberger is making up for the lost time this season. He is the leading scorer for the playoff-bound Centurions. Ernsberger entered Thursday's regular-season finale with a team-best 12 goals.

``I teach AP calculus, and he's in my class as a junior,'' Groller said. ``So I knew he was a smart kid. But I honestly didn't know what to expect soccer-wise. I knew he'd been injured and knew he'd be a bit timid coming back. Or at least that's what I thought.

``He doesn't hold back. He's an aggressive player. He's never shied away from contact.''

Ernsberger was out of action for six months after suffering a broken femur during a junior-varsity football game in October 2004. Pins were inserted into the leg, and he did not return to school until the next semester.

``It was bad,'' Ernsberger said. ``I'm a very active person. I always have been. So having to be confined to my house and not being able to do anything was really rough on me. I like to be active and run around as much as possible.''

He grew up playing many sports, but soccer was always the favorite - and the hardest to not be able to play. He skipped the football season last fall but is considering going out for the team his senior year.

Ernsberger returned to the soccer field last spring with his former club team, Santa Clarita United. He said the leg felt fine, but building endurance and sharpening his soccer skills took time. He started working out with the Centurions again last fall.

Ernsberger had high hopes for the team, but he kept personal expectations modest. Although slowed by a sore ankle most of the season, nothing has stopped him.

``Coming into the season, I didn't really have any goals,'' Ernsberger said. ``I just wanted to play the game. I've played soccer all my life. I love the game. I never thought about how many goals I'd score or anything like that. I just wanted to play.''

Heather Gripp, [phone]

heather.gripp(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

Kyle Ernsberger, left vs. Chatsworth's Anthony Perez-Santiago (16) and Alfredo Bautista, has scored 12 goals for Saugus.

John Lazar/Staff Photographer