The No. 30 Amherst boys lacrosse team earned a trip to the MIAA Division 3 state tournament Round of 32 after a 15-7 victory over No. 35 Middleborough on Thursday night in the preliminary round. Despite the win, the Hurricanes were forced to forfeit their expected matchup against No. 3 Scituate.
At the conclusion of Thursday night’s contest, the emotions of a physical game that featured several big hits and injuries on both sides boiled over. Amherst and the Sachems both entered a benches-clearing fight, with officials struggling to separate the two sides.
Two Hurricanes were suspended as a result by the MIAA.
Amherst already came into the preliminary matchup with a few injuries, with multiple players also having to be helped off the turf at Gooding Field throughout the battle against Middleborough.
Hurricanes head coach Rich Ferro was visibly unsatisfied with how things played out to end the game on Thursday in a postgame interview.
“The reality is we have a 2.5-hour drive out to Scituate, with a whole bunch of injuries, and [we’ve] got a couple of guys out now from that melee at the end,” Ferro said after Thursday’s game.
With the forfeit, Amherst finishes the season with an 11-8 record.
