The Amherst Regional soccer teams struggled to play games at home during the season.
Now, the problem has carried over to the postseason.
All the rain and moisture this fall has severely hurt the Hurricanes’ ability to play on their home pitch inside the track.
“We played a full season last fall. The season before that we played a third (of the season) on it because of the drought,” Amherst athletic director Rich Ferro said. “In the best condition it’s mediocre. It doesn’t drain well. We played the first two weeks of the season there.”
When the rain began to fall the field became unplayable for the boys and girls teams. Several games were moved to the football field, but then that field became a mud patch, according to Ferro.
Several home regular-season games turned into road games, but with the postseason here and the Hurricanes earning a home game in the Western Massachusetts Division 1 Boys Soccer Tournament, Ferro did what many schools have done and that is search for turf.
“I called just about everybody I could think of,” he said.
UMass, Amherst College, Mount Holyoke, Williston Northampton, Deerfield Academy and South Hadley were unavailable.
Mahar was open, so Ferro scheduled the first-round game for 7 p.m. Saturday at the regional school in Orange.
“It’s tough when you have to go play a home tournament soccer game 45 minutes away,” Ferro said. “It’s better than playing at East Longmeadow, but it’s less than ideal.”
The Hurricanes aren’t only team dealing with field issues.
Hampshire Regional will host Sabis at Holyoke High School in the boys Division 3 first round, Saturday at 4 p.m.
Easthampton played Mahar, Friday night at Williston Northampton.
Smith Vocational and Smith Academy will play in the boys Division 4 first round, Sunday at 2 p.m. at Holyoke High.
In the girls Division 1 quarterfinals, Belchertown visits Westfield, but the game is at Roots Athletic Facility, Monday at 2 p.m.
In the girls Division 3 tournament, Easthampton and Hampshire will play at Holyoke High, in the first round Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
“Everybody has the same issue we do,” Ferro said.
This is the worst year Ferro has experienced.
“In seven years I’ve never had to move more than maybe two soccer games because of rain and moister,” said Ferro, who estimated his moved nearly half of the game this season.
The school could have a new track and soccer field if a preliminary plan for a $3.9-$6.2 million project is finalized by the Select Board next month.
Southwick 2, Frontier Regional 0 — The No. 12 Red Hawks lost two of their top three scorers to injury early in the first half, and the No. 5 Rams put in a goal in each half to advance to the Division 3 quarterfinal round in Southwick.
Frontier (10-6-2) lost both Cambrie Hamilton and Jess Wrisley in the first 10 minutes of the game to injuries, and neither player returned. The duo combined for 21 points this season.
Southwick (12-5-1) broke through for the game’s first tally in the 23rd minute, when Emily Giancola took a feed from Brooke Waitz and staked the hosts to a 1-0 advantage.
Malleigh McGivney made it 2-0 in the 50th minute.
“They played a very possession-style game and smothered us in the midfield,” Frontier coach Phil Pittelli said. “They played their angles well.”
Frontier had a chance to cut into the deficit midway through the second half, but goalkeeper Hannah Gerrish (seven saves) saved a penalty kick attempt by Natalie Denkiewicz to keep the Hawks off the board.
“She made a couple really nice saves,” Pittelli said of the Southwick goalie.
Siomara Green made 17 saves for Frontier, which was outshot by a 21-15 margin.
“We had some chances but we couldn’t exploit their backs enough,” Pittelli said. “We played very flat.”
It was the final game for Maddie Crocker, Caitlyn Devine and Jenna Martin.
The Red Hawks return to the bulk of their starting lineup, as a young roster was able to return to the postseason this fall after winning 10 games.
“They got a lot of experience this year so I look forward to seeing our young players and what they can do in the future,” Pittelli said.
Southwick advanced to play No. 4 Monument Mountain (13-4-1) in the quarterfinal round.
Easthampton 3, Sabis 1 — Senior Devney Horne smacked down 18 kills to lead the Eagles to a 25-27, 25-11, 25-19, 25-23 win over the Bulldogs in the first round of the Western Masssachusetts Division 3 Tournament at home.
Horne also added 12 digs and three blocks for the eighth-seeded Eagles (10-7), who advance to play at No. 1 Frontier in the quarterfinals on Monday at 6:30 p.m.
Freshman Skyler Raskevitz contributed a team-high 28 digs in the win. Senior Charlotte Banigan-White had eight kills and five digs to help the effort as well.