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The Trailblazers soccer team starts the season Labor Day weekend with home games versus Hamilton College on Saturday, Sept. 4, and Smith College on Monday, Sept. 6.

MCLA Fall Sports Ready for Season

Chris PiscioneriiBerkshires Intern
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The women's volleyball team has high hopes for the season.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts held its annual luncheon for the fall sports season on Wednesday at Murdock Hall. Coaches for the volleyball and soccer teams talked about their upcoming matches and goals for the year.

The volleyball team looks to build on an 11-13 season in which they started out strong, winning nine straight games. MASCAC (Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference) ranked the Trailblazers fifth in its preseason poll but the team says it's ready to have a strong year and make a run at the conference championship. 

Coach Amanda Beckwith is in her fifth year as head coach, and said, "expectations are the highest they've ever been."

The Trailblazers are returning four important seniors in Tasha Berroa, Christina Kidd, Amanda Borsetti and Amanda Lane. The team is also hoping for a big impact from four incoming first-year players including Jill Gariepy and Chelsea Halsted, who average 6 feet tall between them. MCLA opens play Saturday, Sept. 4, with games versus Eastern Nazarene of Quincy and St. Joseph's in Connecticut.

The women's soccer team is coming off a school record 15-win season, including appearances in the MASCAC conference finals and ECAC semifinals. The Trailblazers are led by 11-year coach Deb Raber, who said her players have been working extremely hard in practice and are ready to make another run at the conference title. The MASCAC preseason poll picked MCLA third in the conference.



Coach Adam Hildabrand and new assistant Scott Botto, former Drury soccer coach, isn't worried about the team's 5th ranking.
The team lost an important senior leader from last year in Jade Prickett, but are returning a strong core of players including all-time leading scorer senior Jess Tietgens, and All-Conference players Jen Wehner and Danielle Parenteau. Some players to watch for this season are last year's second leading scorer, sophomore Lindsay Barbolla, and freshman Ashley Schofield. The Trailblazers start the season Labor Day weekend with home games versus Hamilton College on Saturday, Sept. 4, and Smith College on Monday, Sept. 6.

The men's soccer team is ready for the start of a new season. The Trailblazers finished 8-6-2 last year and were voted fifth in this year's MASCAC preseason poll. Coach Adam Hildabrand is in his fourth year as head coach and is happy with their rank and feels it is a good position to be in. Hildabrand is also joined by first-year assistant Scott Botto, who was the head coach at local Drury High School before retiring from the position.

 The Trailblazers are looking for senior leadership this year from captains Israel Diaz and Adam Tarsa. Hildabrand is also looking for a lot of sophomores to step up this season, including last year's team point leader Jake McCall. The team is facing a demanding nonconference schedule including the CIAO Classic versus Union College and SUNY Potsdam. A plus for the team is that 10 of its last 15 games are played at home, where Hildabrand says the team performs better especially on the new turf of Shewcraft Field. MCLA opens the season Saturday, Sept. 4, at Western Connecticut State.
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Companion Corner Grey Boy at No Paws Left Behind

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — There's a cat No Paws Left Behind still waiting for his forever home.

iBerkshire's Companion Corner is a weekly series spotlighting an animal in our local shelters that is ready to find a home. He was previously highlighted but he now has new information.

Grey Boy is 10 years old and is a gray and white domestic shorthair and was previously highlighted on Companion Corner.

The shelter's Executive Director Noelle Howland introduced us to him and his long journey to be ready for adoption.

"He's been here a couple months. He was a transfer from a rescue in Bennington. They were out of space, so we had taken him in with a few other cats. So he's been here a couple months. He came in with what we believed was a respiratory infection," she said. "So it took us a little bit to get him ready, and then he also needed a dental. So he has nice, clean teeth. He had some teeth removed, and then he has to go back in and have one more dental. So he'll be all ready to go."

It was previously thought that he has feline herpes but he was recently diagnosed with a palette fracture because of how bad his dental disease was, which is what is causing his sneezing. He can now go home with cats, a cat-savvy dog and children.

"He has had two dentals since being with us. Due to the palate fracture he will be sneezy for the rest of his life, not contagious sneezing, but that doesn’t stop him from living a perfectly happy life. He should be on wet food with chunks due to this and since he has had many teeth removed," Howland said.

Grey Boy loves to play with toys and enjoy treats. He would also love to have a window to lounge or bird-watch in.

"He is not afraid of anything. He's very curious, so I'm sure he'd love if you have windows for him to look out of. He still plays, even though he's 10 it does not stop him. So any home would be a good fit for him."

Now that he is ready to be adopted, he is excited. When you walk into the room with him he will rub up against your leg introducing himself and asking to be pet.

"Usually, I would say, when you're walking, he'll bonk into you so he might catch you off guard a little bit. He constantly is rubbing against you," Howland said. "He really, I would say he's lazy when you want him to be, and he's active when you want him to be. He'll play with toys. He's usually lounging away. And then when he comes out he'll play. He loves it. So, very friendly, easy going cat."

He is now perfectly healthy with his dentals all done and veterinary care up to date and is ready to find his forever family.

"I would say the friendliest, easiest cat you could have. He's just, he's just gonna be a little sneezy sometimes, but that doesn't stop him from doing anything," she said.

Grey Boy's adoption fee is sponsored by Rooted in Balance Counseling LLC.

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