AMESBURY — It’s undeniably cruel what has happened to the Amesbury boys lacrosse team over the past two seasons.
Like, almost downright sinister.
Missing the playoffs by 0.3 percentage points is brutal, sure, but hey, it’s not like that’s unheard of. Over the now four year history of the “new” MIAA statewide playoff format, certain teams across various sports have missed their respective tournaments by less.
But to miss the playoffs by 0.3 percentage points TWO years in a row …
Now that’s something out of a Stephen King novel.
Back during the 2023 campaign, Amesbury finished at No. 33 in the final MIAA power rankings — also known as the “first team out” of the playoff field — just 0.3 points behind Littleton. Then last spring, despite playing a tougher non-league schedule, the Redhawks again found themselves at No. 33 when the official pairings were released, again 0.3 points behind the final team in the field, Cape Cod Academy.
And for a young program still trying to make its first ever playoff appearance, those finishes were knives in the heart.
But will this spring finally be Amesbury’s time?
“We hope so,” said senior co-captain Max White. “It’s always down to fate, like it has been the past few years, but I think these kids have put in enough work that we deserve it.”
Unfortunately, all that’s left now is the waiting game.
Wednesday afternoon at Landry Memorial Stadium, Amesbury wrapped up its 2025 regular season with a 16-5 loss to Newburyport. Not a bad setback by any stretch, as the Clippers (15-1) are one of the best teams in Division 3 and are a legitimate state title contender. But for the Redhawks (5-14), now all they can do it wait for the pairings to be announced next Wednesday to see if finally — in now the fifth year of the program’s existence — they’ve done enough to punch their very first playoff ticket.
“I think we’ve done as much as we could,” said coach George White, who’s led the program since its inception. “There were a couple of games where we could have played better, but we played pretty good overall. The MIAA math is crazy, so it’s hard to say. But yeah, I think we’ve done enough to actually make it this year.”
In the MIAA’s latest rankings released on Tuesday, Amesbury was at No. 31.
Meaning that the Redhawks are still clinging to the right side of the “bubble” as the final days of the regular season dwindle away. They, of course, have not automatically qualified by finishing with a .500 record or better, and currently hold a 0.11 percentage point lead over No. 32 Hull, and a 0.34 lead over both No. 33 Mashpee and No. 34 McCann Tech.
So, yeah, it’s going to be tight once again.
But Amesbury has put in a lot of excellent work to even be in this position.
After starting the season 0-9, there was little hope that the program’s first ever postseason appearance would happen this spring. But after finally breaking through and beating Hamilton-Wenham in early May, the Redhawks started to find their groove. They would beat the Generals again, and earn other victories over Triton, Malden and Gloucester — an 11-10 thriller on Senior Night where White scored with 10 seconds left.
What prompted the change?
“We were always big on keeping our attitude,” said Max White. “Keeping kids in check, making sure they showed up to practice every day ready to work. It was hard with so many younger kids and a younger program. But we just had to adapt and grow, and I’m happy that we’ve found some success this year.”
Added his coach, who is also his father: “CAL teams are tough. We had a lot of new kids this year and a new goalie (Michael Morlino), who had never played goalie before this year. So it was tough at the start with everyone trying to figure everything out. But I think they did a good job and started coming together.”
Amesbury just kept fighting.
White, a two-time Daily News All-Star and UMass Boston commit, leads the way with 42 goals and 14 assists, and he added three more on Wednesday. Fellow senior captain Grady Hagan (6g, 15a) is having a solid year, and after them it’s the “younger guys” like Evan Murphy (38g, 5a), Braden Delisle (21g, 16a), Chase Linsey (7g, 11a), Ben Berg (13g, 5a), Nicky Creps (15g, 3a) and Landon Mitchell (7g, 4a) stepping up.
But what would it mean for those seniors to get to end their careers with a playoff game?
“Coming into high school that was always my goal, to make the playoffs,” said Max White. “Falling short the past two years was super hard, but this year, it would mean everything. It would be a big step for the program. Especially with the youth to give them something to focus on.
“Getting those kids to have some hope for the future is everything.”