MCLA ready for ECACs

November 11, 2009

By Howard Herman, Berkshire Eagle Staff

NORTH ADAMS -- To say that this has been a great season for the women's soccer team at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts would be an understatement.

A school record in wins, a first-ever trip to the Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference tournament and a first-ever trip to the ECAC Division III New England Tournament. Individually, forward Jess Tietgens broke a school record for career goals and her own record for most goals in a season.

For Tietgens and her teammates, the records aren't important.

"None of feel we played the way we're capable of against Westfield," said Tietgens. "We're given a second chance to go out and prove ourselves, and we definitely want to take advantage of it."

The Trailblazers, who dropped a 3-1 decision to Westfield State in the MASCAC championship game, are the fourth seed in the ECAC tournament and one of four teams that will host first-round matches today. The Trailblazers (14-5) will host Emmanuel College (14-6-1) today at 1:30 at Ron Shewcraft Field.

Brandeis is the No. 1 seed in the eight-team tournament, followed by Keene State and the University of New England. The highest remaining seed in the tournament will host the semifinals and finals this weekend.

The season earned head coach Deb Raber her second MASCAC coach of the year award in three seasons. Raber said playing in the ECACs gives her team an opportunity to demonstrate their abilities to more teams.

"We kind of put [the loss] behind us, and learned from it," said Raber. "That's just going to make us better. What happened on Saturday will make us better for [today]."

But if you ask Raber, the record and the tournament came as a pleasant surprise to her.

"I always believed what we were capable of doing," she said. "It's one thing for me to believe it. It's another thing for the women on the team to believe it. As the year went on, they started to believe more and more about what great things they were doing, and the accomplishments they were having."

Tietgens, the junior from Stamford, Vt., has been the catalyst for the team. She scored a hat trick in a semifinal win over Worcester State to equal her single-season record of 25 goals. Then Tietgens scored her 26th in the loss to Westfield.

"Jess is just a special player," Raber said of the former Drury High School star. "Twenty-six goals, sure, but there's a cast around her that helps get her the ball."

Tietgens is marked tenaciously by opposing defenders, but she is quick to credit her teammates who help get her open.

"They pretty much do it all," said Tietgens. "They look for the ball and they know exactly where to play it -- if it's over the top or at my feet."

The MCLA women have definitely created a buzz on the campus. The Trailblazers have had numerous athletes from other teams and members of the student body traveling with them to games over the past few weeks.

The MCLA students won't have to travel far -- just up Route 2 to West Shaft Road -- today. And those in attendance will be rooting for an MCLA win.

"It's definitely about us," said Raber. "If we play soccer the way we're capable of playing soccer, we are a very difficult team to beat."