South County Wins Masters Soccer League Title in OT

By Ben McDonoughiBerkshires.com Sports
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — South County needed every bit of resilience Thursday night in the championship game of the Berkshire Masters Soccer Tournament, overcoming a second-half deficit before Caleb Rogers delivered the deciding blow in overtime to lift his side to a 2-1 victory over Barcelona.
 
The match opened as a defensive battle, with South County weathering consistent pressure from Barcelona. Although Barcelona generated the majority of the first-half scoring chances, South County’s back line remained organized and disciplined, repeatedly turning away dangerous attacks to keep the match scoreless through the opening 45 minutes.
 
The intensity of the contest increased before halftime as Barcelona was issued both a yellow card and a red card, forcing the side to play the remainder of the match with 10 players.
 
South County nearly took advantage of the extra man early in the second half when a dangerous opportunity rolled just wide of the post.
 
Despite playing shorthanded, Barcelona broke the deadlock about 15 minutes into the second half, finding the back of the net to take a 1-0 lead.
 
South County refused to back down.
 
The hosts responded later in the half with an equalizer, rewarding their persistence and bringing the match level at 1-1. Barcelona threatened to reclaim the lead on a dangerous free kick, but the South County goalkeeper came through with a key save to keep the score even and send the contest into overtime.
 
The deciding moment came on a set piece.
 
Awarded a free kick in overtime, Rogers stepped up and buried the opportunity, curling home the golden goal to complete South County’s comeback and secure the 2-1 victory.
 
South County’s defensive effort set the tone throughout the evening, frustrating Barcelona’s attack for much of regulation before the offense found the breakthrough when it mattered most.
 
After battling back from a one-goal deficit and surviving several dangerous chances, South County completed a dramatic comeback to claim its first tournament championship since 2017. 
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Pryor & Peacock's Whimsical Furniture Environmentally Friendly

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
 

The company uses digital printing to create the upholstery fabric, saving water and saving vintage furniture from ending up in landfills.

STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — A unique furniture store has popped up on Elm Street this month.

Mom-and-daughter store Pryor & Peacock is hosting the pop-up storefront from Aug. 13 to Aug. 25 at 6 Elm. The New Marlborough business is co-founded by Rosalina Wright and Luca Shapiro, who is also the creative director. 

Their online shop was created in 2024 but they wanted people to see the pieces in person, so they're renting the space for a limited time before a long-term tenant moves in.

The store sources prints to create unique fabrics and reimagines vintage and antique furniture acquired at auctions, local shops, and online.

"We source prints from all over the world that date from the late 1600s up through mid-20th century, and Luca turns those prints into fabric by manipulating them, scanning them, oftentimes has to add or subtract things, and then we manufacture the fabric using only digital printing, which is very environmentally friendly, unlike traditional textile printing," Wright said.

Upholstering the furniture can take weeks of work. Shapiro looks for the perfect design for each piece and, if need be, uses Adobe Photoshop to extend the art work to fit or enhance the print.

"One of the most difficult parts comes in marrying the fabric to a piece of furniture because we only use antique and vintage frames also to be earth friendly, and they're also more beautiful and durable than new furniture," Wright said. "So the image has to go with the furniture, so that takes a lot of work."

One of Pryor & Peacock's missions is to be environmentally friendly. Digital printing doesn't use the same amount of water as traditional textile productions do nor does it contaminate water with ink according to their website.

Not only are they saving water, but they are saving furniture from going into the landfill while also using more durable furniture that doesn't break as easily as current pieces. They started their business to create something unique and to help the environment together.

"It's creating something nobody else is doing. People can't continue to buy throwaway furniture. Six percent of American landfills is furniture, and digital printing not only opens up the possibility of being able to put unique images on a piece of furniture, but it also is, as I said, environmentally friendly. So, for us, the excitement is to take an old East Lake settee that somebody's going to store in their barn and forget about, and make it something completely new and surprising," Wright said.

They hope their furniture helps bring a pop of fun to someone's home.

"We think our furniture is very whimsical and surprising, and most furniture today is oatmeal colored couches and gray neutral chairs, and it's boring," she said.

The two named their business after their mothers' maiden names to honor them and believe the name reflects their pieces.

Shapiro works in interior design outside of the business and the two liked working together and thought it would be great to start a business together. Shapiro says they can work well together and that her and her mother, Wright, has flipped houses before and have the same eye for design.

"So it's very easy for us to work together. When we see something, generally we agree on whether it works or doesn't work on a piece. We agree on the color schemes and that sort of thing. So it's very fun and fulfilling to work together," Shapiro said. 

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