Members of the Pascack Hills High School girls' lacrosse team decided to forfeit their New Jersey state quarterfinal game against Mahwah on Friday afternoon, after the death of a Pascack player's family member that morning.
"Out of respect for Mahwah and respect for all the kids involved, it was decided amongst our seniors and our players to forfeit the game," Pascack Hills athletic director Phil Paspalas said, as reported by NJ Advance Media. "Our kids have shown a tremendous amount of maturity, caring and perspective in this sudden situation and it reaffirms the lessons that we all value and that we want to instill in our kids."
Paspalas did not want to identify the family member or the player.
Later in the day, Mahwah expressed support through the school's Twitter account: "Our condolences go out to the Pascack Hills Girls Lacrosse program from our program to yours. Be Strong."
Pascack Hills was seeded fourth in North Jersey, Section 1, Group 2 and was scheduled to play host to fifth-seeded Mahwah.
