AMHERST – The Battle of the Bridge is always a game that the Amherst and Northampton boys lacrosse teams circle on their calendars.

Thursday afternoon was no exception.

With the sun beating down during one of the hottest days yet this spring, the Hurricanes raced out to a blistering 6-0 lead and managed to stave off any Northampton comeback in a 16-7 victory.

Linus Hazen led the ‘Canes with five goals and Jameson Dion rattled off three goals and two assists. Skyler Ferro added a hat trick and two assists, Tri Nguyen had a pair of goals and three assists, and senior Calvin Jackowitz scored his first varsity goal, prompting a roar from his teammates on the field and the sidelines. 

“[It was] scary, because I thought I was stepping in the crease, I thought it was going to get wiped out,” Jackowitz said on his goal. 

Luckily for the senior, it counted, and by then the result was well in Amherst’s hands. The home squad kept Northampton off the board entirely in the first, spending the majority of the first quarter in their offensive end and netting five goals to put the Blue Devils on their heels. 

Ferro netted another goal to start the second and make it 6-0 before Northampton managed to answer with a tally from Jackson Oravec, and another one shortly after from Keller Mahoney to make it 6-2.

But while the Blue Devils never really fell out of the game, they never managed to close the gap to closer than four goals.

“I just feel like our effort wasn’t there,” Northampton head coach Peter Carbery said. “I feel like we had a few guys that carried us, namely our captain Parker (Aimi-Starkoski) and then Henry Fallon in goal. We need a little bit more. We needed more from the midfield and a little bit more on the attack.”

On the scoresheet, Northampton was led by Minti Peterson with a hat trick. Jack Carpenter and Keller Mahoney each had two goals and an assist and Oravec finished with three points (1G, 2A).

The Blue Devils are a sophomore-heavy team this year – on Thursday, the team’s entire starting attack was comprised of sophomores, and their top midfielders are as well. It will take time for them to get accustomed to the game, but Carbery hopes that will come sooner than later.

Despite the lopsided final score, Amherst is trying to grow in some areas as well. The hosts had bright spots, head coach Charlie Edwards said, highlighted by their ability to cycle the ball well and adjust their shots to find the open net. But where Amherst struggled the most on Thursday was with penalty-taking, something that has plagued the ‘Canes early in the year. Amherst finished with over a dozen penalty minutes, not a trend it wants to continue, especially as the club goes into a tougher part of their schedule.

“We’ve been been struggling with that. We have some good intensity but we’re still trying to find kind of where our wheelhouse is and channeling it in the right direction,” Edwards said. “We’re trying to find that spot.”

If they can take fewer penalties, the ‘Canes could be a pretty competitive group over the rest of this season. Their next contest will be an away game at Belchertown on Tuesday at 4 p.m.

Hannah Bevis can be reached at hbevis@gazettenet.com. Follow her on Twitter @Hannah_Bevis1.]]>