Amherst Regional swept the Division 1 ultimate state championships Sunday at the Oxbow Marina in Northampton, beating Four Rivers in both finals.
The boys team beat Four Rivers 13-7 in the championship game.
“We played that team once before, and we knew it was gonna be a tough game, and we knew they were very gritty and physical, and they challenged us,” Amherst coach Joe Costello said. “I think we were ready for that, and we were patient and kept working hard and eventually found some pretty good results.”
The beginning of the game was a back-and-forth affair. Four Rivers went up a score quickly to start
After leading 6-4, the Hurricanes found themselves tied at 7-7, 60 minutes into the match. After forcing a turnover at midfield, a well-placed pass to end zone ended the first half and gave Amherst the 8-7 lead.
“It was really fun,” senior Luca Harwood said. “It was like a tight game for a while.”
In the second half, it was all Amherst. The Hurricanes took over quickly as they scored multiple times in the first 10 minutes and shut out Four Rivers in the second half to secure the state title.
While winning is always great for the program, both players and coaches are in the sport for a lot more than winning.
“Our goals were to have fun and cherish the moments that we had with each other and play hard and support each other and we did that all through the weekend,” Costello said.
Those special moments and support of the team are something that senior Zach Riley made clear he is going to miss, crediting his coaches for the culture they’ve created.
“Joe and Leila (Tunnell) work really hard to create a team culture where everyone is accepted and has fun and also everyone is in the mindset of ‘we’re going to work really hard,’” said Riley. “I’m definitely going to miss that.”
The Amherst girls team, led by coaches Hannah Baranes and Will Van Heuvelen, beat Four Rivers 13-8 in the final. It was the second time the teams met for a tournament championship in three weeks. Amherst also beat the Otters for the Amherst Invitational title on May 12.
There were no easy scores for either side during the first half.
Once the Hurricanes picked up steam, however, it was a long afternoon for Four Rivers. Despite a few scores in the second half by the Otters, Amherst remained in control all the way through.
“The thing that sticks out to me the most is the amount of growth we had from day one to day two,” Baranes said. “It was really nice way to finish out the trajectory of our season. I said to them before this game, ‘No matter what had happened in this game, the fact that we played our best ultimate on the last day of the season, it was a win.’ I’m really proud of them.”
This was the fifth matchup between the Amherst girls and Four Rivers this season. They split the first four games 2-2.
“It’s really fun to play them,” Amherst junior Rachel Oram-Brown said.
Pearl Tulay, a senior at Amherst Regional, ended her second year on the varsity squad on a high note.
“It was pretty incredible,” said Tulay. “Today we managed to come together as a team in ways we never have before.”
Hartsbrook was ninth in the girls bracket after beating Amherst’s junior varsity A team 13-10 in the ninth-place game.
