Volume 134 No. 1 by The Springfield Student

The Springfield Student Est. 1910

September 12, 2019

Volume 134 No. 1

[scstudentmedia.com]

Welcome back The Student’s first edition of the new year

New Dining on Campus - See Page 4 Q&A with President Cooper - See Page 7 Photo Courtesy of Springfield College Flickr

The legacy of the beanies One of Springfield College’s longest standing traditions holds a rich and meaningful history

By Danny Priest @dpriest3

Springfield College is full of tradition. There are traditions that range from recent ones such as midnight bingo to more classic practices such as new student orientation. For all of the rituals out there on campus, there may not be one more well known or longer practiced than that of freshmen wearing beanies. On campus the term “beanie” has been and always will be synonymous with freshmen. Yet what many people may not be aware of is exactly how long the custom has been around

or how it’s changed over the years. According to Springfield College’s official website, the tradition of wearing beanies has been around since the early 1920s. Now in 2019, some freshmen despise the beanie and refuse to wear it, which is completely acceptable, but that was not always the case. Back in the early days of beanies, freshmen had to wear the caps all year long until Stepping Up or “Decapitation Day” in the Spring. The only way for the freshmen to be able to take off the beanies any sooner was to win a game of foot-

ball against the sophomore class. On top of those stipulations, the beanies worn by freshmen were green in color. The reasoning behind that was because new students were “green” and inexperienced, and the beanie was a way to put that on display. As all long-standing traditions are forced to do, the beanie evolved and changed. By the 1930s they were maroon and white to match the school colors. By the 1970’s the freshmen could take off their beanies if they won a See Beanies on Page 6

September 12, 2019

Opinion

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Guerard: The power of voice It’s easy to make yourself a contributor at The Springfield Student

By Gabby Guerard @GabbyGuerard

As the school year begins, I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce myself as the new Editor in Chief of The Springfield Student. One of our primary goals for the upcoming year is to diversify our coverage as much as possible. What does this mean? We want to hear from you! If you are a department on campus and are hosting events, bringing in speakers, or know students or faculty who are doing great work, reach out to us! If you are part of a club, we want to know what you’re up to, so we can cover your organization. If you are a student who wants to comment on an issue happening on campus, or at the national or global level, we want to hear your voice! Last year we had a number of “guest columns” written by students with unique perspectives, and we would love to build off that this year.

Our name is The Springfield Student for a reason -- we are a student-run publication, which we widely consider the voice of the student-body. But we cannot possibly be that voice, if we only cover the same events, with the same groups of individuals, with our same voices, week after week after week. We need your help. Speak up. Reach out.

Use your voice -it’s a powerful thing. Contact Us: springfieldstudent@springfield.edu

September 12, 2019

News

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Climbing the ranks

Photo Courtesy of Springfield College Flickr

Springfield College makes history in rankings By Gabby Guerard @GabbyGuerard

as peer assessment, graduation and retention rated, student selectivity, class size, alumni giving, and student-faculty ratio. SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Springfield “But one of the most important variables that they rate you on is other presidents, College has advanced into the Top 20 in we do a peer review,” said President Cooper. “So every January or February, I get a big its category in the 2020 U.S. News Best spreadsheet of all the other colleges, and I rank them based on my perception of how well Colleges rankings, released Monday, Septhey’re doing, and academic rigor, and alumni giving, and so it’s like being rated by your tember 9. In the “Best Regional Universities — North Region,” Springfield College peers.” “So your other colleges are noticing that Springfield College is getting stronger and is ranked 19th, which is the first time in stronger and stronger, so that peer review for me is the thing that has the most power,” school history that the College has landed she added. in the Top 20. Springfield College welcomes more than 1,200 new incoming students to its campus This year’s ranking continues to reprecommunity for the 2019-20 academic year. For the second time in three years, Springfield sent a consistent rise in the rankings for College welcomed more than 600 incoming undergraduate students to the main campus at Springfield College over the last 10 years. the start of the academic year. Springfield College has seen an increase As a result of another successful summer and fall student recruiting effort, Springfield in its ranking in nine of the last 10 years, including jumping up nine spots from 2019. College welcomes an incoming first-year class that represents the strongest academic profile in the College’s history — surpassing last year’s record high academic profile. The College has moved up 48 spots from And even though Springfield College has just landed in the Top 20, President Cooper 2011. “Our extraordinary rise in the rankings has her eyes set on continuing to improve. “My goal is to be in the Top 10, so we’ll see if we can get there,” she said. is confirmation of the commitment of our Springfield College also ranked a top college for best value faculty and staff to cultivating academic Springfield College was also ranked 15th in its category of the U.S.News & World excellence at Springfield College,” said Report‘s Best Value rankings that showcase colleges with high quality and a lower cost, Springfield College President Mary-Beth up four spots from last year. This is the fourth consecutive year that Springfield College A. Cooper. “A Springfield College education, grounded in the Humanics philosophy, has been listed in the Best Values category. The Best Values category takes into account a college’s academic quality and net cost of attendance. According to U.S.News, the higher continues to be well regarded.” the quality of the program and the lower the cost, the better the value. The constant ranking in the top tier is Springfield College was also ranked once again in U.S.News‘ A+ Schools for B Students spurred by improved graduation rated and category. According to U.S.News, colleges in this category have strong ratings and accept improved retention of first-year students. a significant number of students with non-stratospheric transcripts. The ratings are based on such variables

September 12, 2019

News

Good eats

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Campus Union and Cheney Dining Hall have been revamped with new options to start the year By Irene Rotondo @irenerrotondo

As Springfield College students begin to settle back into their dorms and start the first semester of the new school year, the one unifying central thought they all share is FOOD. Where to eat, what to eat, and when to eat are some of the most important decisions for any college student to make throughout the day. To start the new year, the Campus Union and Cheney Dining Hall are emphasizing starting the year off strong in terms of dining options. Mark Marson is the Director of Operations for Dining Services at Springfield College. He’s using information gathered from last year to implement new additions for dining this school year. “We did surveys last year, and the three biggest things that students asked for were Mexican, Asian, and Italian. So we listened to their suggestions and are now offering three new retails (in the Union),” Marson said. The most drastic of the changes that have already begun in the Union is the complete remodeling of Burger Studio into Sazon Mexican Grille. They will be serving customizable burritos, tacos, and burrito bowls complete with various vegetable options, multiple protein choices, and several sauces. Chips and guacamole will also be available in tune with the Mexican theme of the restaurant. However, burgers, chicken tenders, and fries are still available in the evenings, which is based off of what students have suggested. Buffalo chicken wraps will also make a comeback by popular demand. Another new restaurant opening up in the Union is called Jasmine’s, which will be taking over the spot where pizza was served at night. Jasmine’s is an Asian concept that will be expanding the pre-existing sushi that is freshly made every day, as

well as pioneering a new hot food option to be served at the restaurant called danburi. This dish will feature a vegetarian option, as well as the customary beef and chicken choices. The third and final new consumer’s destination will be called Italian Roasted, which is a “combo of flatbread, grainbowl, or pasta, and then it’s fully customizable from there. (Students will be) able to get what kind of protein they want, what vegetables they want,” according to Marson. This restaurant will open officially in the spot of Chef ’s Pride.

“My biggest philosophy is that the students’ feedback helps shape the program; without getting student feedback, we can’t change the program and make it the way that they really want it,”

Mark Marson Marson also said that new “gluten-free products, premium nut blends, Kambucha in the beverage cooler, etc.” are some examples of healthy and allergen-aware items that are going to be in the Innovation Merchandiser for students to buy. “Between the Innovation Merchandiser, as well as another cooler that we added in there and the main cooler that we have, we now offer pretty much every single beverage that Coca-Cola has to offer us; we can’t buy everything that Coca-Cola sends, but everything they would ship here we have on the shelf somewhere to be able to see what the students like and what they’re really buying,” Marson said.

As for Cheney Hall, many actions had already been taken last year and last semester to improve, so changes in there are not as drastic as they were in the Union, but some still did occur. The True Balance station was rolled out at the tail-end of last year, which eliminates the top eight most common allergens from food and enables students to be far less cautious about what they are consuming. Amongst other changes, a panini station was put in place of the regular deli this year, as well as the closing of the omelette station at the end of breakfast each day that will turn into a made-to-order pasta station. “This was a big calling for, the pasta station,” said Marson. “It was always pasta, you can customize it, and it will be out there for lunch and dinner every day.” As for new staff members joining the team, Springfield College hired a registered dietitian named Hailey Handzel to aid students who have any type of dietary restrictions and dietary needs. Handzel was an important addition because she will be able to work closely alongside the True Balance program, along with other dietary programs at Springfield. “My biggest philosophy is that the students’ feedback helps shape the program; without getting student feedback, we can’t change the program and make it the way that they really want it,” stated Marson. “To be able to get feedback on the new concepts, new ideas, and all the things that we’re running, we’ll be able to change the program. I say it all the time: if there’s a student that comes in here and wants to buy a certain type of beverage every day that we don’t carry, I’ll carry it if they’re going to come in here every day and utilize it. The program here is really about the students,” he added.

Sepember 12, 2019

News

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Photo Courtesy of Irene Rotondo

Sazon Mexican Grill in the Campus Union.

Photo Courtesy of Danny Priest

Some options available at Jasmineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in the Union.

The new pasta bar available in Cheney.

Photo Courtesy of Irene Rotondo

September 12, 2019

News

Beanies continued from Page 1

rope pull against the sophomores on the first weekend of the year. Of course that rope pull wasn’t exactly fair. For starters, freshmen had to cross the train trestle (located to the left of International Hall) to reach the other side of Lake Massassoit. Once across, freshmen stood on a small bank that was sloped downwards towards the water and had to pull against the sophomores standing on a flat surface on the other side. Not exactly fair, but legend has it that the “smart” freshmen classes would tie their end of rope to a tree so it was impossible for them to lose. Perhaps that was an early sign that Springfield College is a group of competitors. *** Tamie Kidess Lucey is the Director of Alumni Relations at Springfield College and has been for 33 years. As a graduate of the college herself in 1981 and having a father who attended the institution, she’s seen the evolution of beanies her entire life. “I think that one reason the beanie tradition has survived at Springfield where it may not have survived at other institutions is we’ve evolved it with the times,” she said. “We didn’t insist forever and ever that freshmen had to wear the beanies for all first

Photo Courtesy of Springfield College Digital Archivies

The freshman class of 1931 sporting their beanies in front of Marsh Memorial. semester or the whole year if they didn’t win a rope pull,” Lucy added. All of the details mentioned above are fun. Rope pulls, football games, having some fun at the expense of freshmen, but looking a little deeper the beanie represents a lot more than just some silly hat freshmen are made to wear to look ridiculous. “It’s (the beanie) a rite of passage, it’s a symbol of being part of a family. We don’t have fraternities and sororities and it’s very intentional why we don’t,” Lucey said of beanies and the college. “We are the fraternity and sorority, it is all of us. We are the family, we are the people. So that beanie or that bucket hat is a symbol that you’re a part of us. You’re part of our people,” she said. For as miniscule as it may be on the surface, the beanie means so much more on a deeper level and there’s evidence that supports that. Each year at convocation the student bleachers become a sea of beanies. Why? Because students are buying in and joining the family. Take the class of 1976 for an example of just how much beanies represent. When they entered the campus as freshmen they were given arm

bands rather than beanies. In 2016 for their 40th reunion they requested beanies because they wanted to be part of something special. They wanted to be part of a tradition. 40 years later. It was still on their minds. *** Take it from graduates themselves, that beanie is always going to hold a place in their hearts. Charlie Sullivan is a Professor of Physical Education and the men’s volleyball coach at Springfield. He’s been a member of the family since receiving his undergraduate degree in 1991. “No one wants to wear their beanie when they receive it and then you are forced to make yourself vulnerable and put it on. At that point your courage feels good and it opens you up to growth,” Sullivan said. “As you continue to grow under the Humanics umbrella at Springfield College you start to appreciate and even love your beanie for without it you would not have taken a chance and you would have missed the great feeling of joy and happiness that come along with growth. As you get to be my age you think to yourself, what would I have been without this silly hat,” he

PAGE 6 added. Sullivan is not the only alum to have these types of feelings about the beanie. Michelle Moosbrugger is the CoChair of the Department of Physical Education and Health Education and received her undergraduate degree from Springfield in 2000; she too has a soft sentiment for her beanie. “It’s incredibly powerful to see that faculty and staff who are alumni have kept their beanies all these years. When we were undergraduate students, we had no idea that our career paths would bring us back home to Springfield College,” she said. “So, we didn’t keep our beanies because we thought we’d wear them again while working at Springfield College. I kept my beanie because it symbolizes my initial connection to a place and an experience that became an integral part of who I am.” Beanies won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. They are as much a part of Springfield College as the Naismith statue right in the middle of campus. They represent so much more than anyone could have imagined when the tradition began in the 1920s. In all likelihood anytime a graduate looks at their beanie in the future, it’s going to put a smile on their face. The time spent at Springfield College is temporary, but the family gained there is forever.

September 12, 2019

News

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A talk with the President The Springfield Student catches up with Springfield College President Mary-Beth Cooper What are some of the major changes in things that are going on this year? (The campus master plan) So we have two planning committees, one that’s working on the new Health Sciences building, and the second one is a new residence hall. So there are two planning committees that are working on what the details of those would be and where would they be located. We believe that the Health Science (building) will be on the corner across from Locklin. And then the residence hall, there’s still some debate on that, whether we put it in the parking lot between my house and Gulick, or if we find another location for it… We’re also getting ready for our accreditation visit which is next September, so we’ve got a lot of staff, faculty, and students working on the accreditation team. We get accredited every 10 years… So they’ve got financial considerations that they are looking at and want to make sure that you will be here for the duration of all the students that you recruit… We’re having a big President’s Gala October 26, our very first one in probably, I’d hate to say our only one, but we’re not doing it every year, but we’re doing one on Homecoming weekend to raise money for student scholarships, so we’ve put that out as a priority… The other thing… is we are looking to relocate the Counseling Center, and give them a better environment. Mental health issues are a big issue for this community, and I think it’s really important to give them a location where they have better space, better group rooms. And so we’ll be relocating them

Gabby Guerard and President Cooper. probably next summer, but planning it all year, in terms of design and where it should be, and asking students where they would feel comfortable going, where they have enough anonymity, but also that it’s conducive to what they need to do. If you need PT, you go and you get PT, so this is just another step to remove the stigma as best we can from mental health issues, so we’ve made it a priority to find a better space for them… From our perspective, students know what a priority is for the College when you see things happen. Like a new Health Science building, you can tell what’s important… This is our signal to students saying ‘this is about you taking care of yourself ’... We’re also going to be making an announcement on November 11, we’re going to have a Veteran’s House right by the arch. It’s the brick house on the

Photo Courtesy of Danny Priest

corner, that will be a veteran’s outreach center. So veterans will have a lounge in there, a space to go, computers, so they feel like they’re welcome on campus… I can’t think of another group of people who have done more service for us than veterans, so we’re going to hopefully have that done by Veteran’s Day and do our veteran’s service down there and dedicate the building. With new students on campus, do you have any words of wisdom that you want to give to the student body? We went over to Make Way for the Ducklings (during NSO as part of Humanics in Action), and I went with a group of people, and I was amazed by how positive this incoming class has been. You’d think somebody would complain that it’s 9 o’clock in the

To see the full story go to scstudentmedia.com

September 12, 2019

News

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Springfield College hosts fourth annual Education and Leadership Luncheon, check out some of the best photos from the event

President Cooper with NBA Deputy Commisioner Mark Tatum (far left) and Chuck Cooper III (third from the right) among others.

Harlem Globetrotter Hammer Harrison poses with President Cooper and local students.

All photos courtesy of Springfield College Flickr

Sports (Daniela Detore/The Student)

September 12, 2019

Camryn Bancroft (pictured to the right) has won NEWMAC Women’s Volleyball Offensive Athlete of the Week twice.

Pride volleyball looks to continue stretch of success By Joe Arruda @joearruda9

The Springfield College women’s volleyball team (6-1) is in the midst of their third week sitting at No. 2 in the NEWMAC standings. After a 24-8 campaign last year, the future is dazzling for the Pride. Though the group is young, featuring five freshmen, seven sophomores, and just four upperclassmen, they have proven through seven games that they have potential to continue the program’s upward trend of success. Despite a tough early schedule, the Pride have impressed in the onset of their season. Their only loss came in a five-set battle against Stockton University in their second game of the NYU Invitational. “I think what was great this weekend was we played Skidmore who was very good defensively, and then we played Stockton who was outstanding, a tough five setter but we ended up losing,” Pride head coach Moira Long said. “But, what was great was that we go into the NYU match against a very talented, and very big team, their front row was 6’3”, 6’2”, and 6’1” at one point, but it was great because we just responded and took something away from the match at Stockton, and realized we need to execute a little bit better in set five, and we did.” The squad responded to the tough five-set loss with an impressive five-set victory in the same day, handing the New York University Bobcats their first loss of the season. “I am very pleased with their development so far,” Long said. “We actually have played a really tough schedule so far, I couldn’t be happier. They’re a pretty good group in terms of volleyball IQ, They are very consistent emotionally which I think helps in volleyball.”

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Players to Watch After losing three starters from last season due to graduation, the opportunity to become a star has spread open for this year’s team. Featuring just three seniors on the roster, the 2019 Pride will rely on the leadership of their younger student-athletes. Six games into the season, junior middle blocker Camryn Bancroft has proven that she is willing and able to become a force on the front line. She has already been named NEWMAC Women’s Volleyball Offensive Athlete of the Week for two consecutive weeks. “Camryn’s been great. She worked really hard, and she’s grown a lot in her first two years. She’s been consistent emotionally, mentally, and physically. She’s a presence on the court,” Long said. Bancroft is just one of many players who can be expected to make a dent in the Pride’s success this season. She leads the team with 100 kills on an impressive .509 clip, followed by sophomore Demi Spanos and senior Bridget Walsh who have collected 67 and 57 kills, respectively. Returning to the Pride after missing last season is senior libero Anagabrielle Sanchez who compiled over 1,000 digs after her first two seasons with Springfield. Sanchez was named NEWMAC First Team All-Conference, AVCA New England All-Region team, and was awarded the New England Co-Freshman of the Year after her first season in 2016-17. “It’s great to have [her] back, she’s a great person and we’re just super excited with the

See Page 11

Sports

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(Jack Margaros/The Student)

September 12, 2019

Joseph Olaynack (left) and Jaxon Tamulaites (right) pictured celebrating a goal against Westfield State.

Youth movement

Twenty-one freshmen highlight Springfield College men’s soccer roster By Kevin Saxe @ksaxe98

As the final whistle of the season blew on Nov. 10, 2018 it signaled the end to one of the most successful classes in the history of the Springfield College men’s soccer team. For the class that included: Brad Deckel, Ian Zacharewicz, Xavi Arroyo, Keon Haji, Christian Schneider, and Stewart Frank, they wrapped up careers that included an ECAC Championship and three consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament. With the departure of this mightily successful class as well as transfers and injuries to a couple of returners the Pride are now one of the youngest teams in all of

NCAA soccer across all divisions. Twenty one. That is the number of freshmen on the Springfield College men’s soccer team. The first years nearly double the number of returning players and make up approximately two thirds of the roster. Between graduation, transfers, and injuries the Pride are in a unique position. With a team so young, second year head coach Tommy Crabill detailed the challenges of coaching such a young team. “The biggest challenge for me as a young coach is trying to stick with things that are most important to our culture and teaching those things first and not getting lost into other de-

tails of playing the game that matter. We really want to solidify what it’s like to be a Springfield soccer player on and off the field.” Having a young team on all fronts the Pride find themselves inserting multiple freshmen into their starting lineup from the get-go. One of the most interesting situations is the goalie position. There are five of them. Not only are there five but all five are freshmen. Crabill knows it’s a unique position to be in so he’s had a unique way to handle it thus far. “It’s such a unique situation that we told them we want to treat it in a unique way. We are one of the very few teams in the country that rotates

goalkeepers at halftime,” Crabill said. “Very few teams, and very few coaches would choose to do that but we believe we see a handful of them ready to contribute.” With so many goalies competing for playing time it could create some animosity towards each other, with all of them being within the same class, however sophomore defender and captain Jack Costa detailed the way they push each other to be better: “There’s no bad blood between them, they understand their roles, where some guys might play one day but not the next day. They all push themselves, they have good practices, and they have good relationships between

them and it makes them compete and makes them better.” Players to Watch Because there are so few returners, they find themselves taking on an increased leadership role. Costa understands the importance of all of the returners not just limited to captains senior Keith Dixon and junior Garrett Ossolinski as well as Costa and their role in helping the freshman class. “All of the returners, we understand the situation that we’re in right now where there is so many young guys, even if you’re not a captain you still have to act and be a leader and lead by example. Every guy has stepped up and

September 12, 2019

Sports

assumed a leadership role even if they’re not wearing an armband during the game,” Costa said. With a freshman class so big it is easy to point out the new starters as players to watch. However, Crabill detailed how for the Pride there is more than just those playing substantial minutes to keep an eye on. “Those guys will have to ride the rollercoaster that freshmen provide to us because consistency is really challenging to first year players,” Crabill said. “I think there is a solid ten to twelve of them that will contribute and there’s two injured that would be contributing. The ones who have been starting are the obvious ones but there’s probably five or six other guys who are ready.” For the Pride, expect

returners like Costa, Ossolinski, and especially Dixon who is the lone senior to play integral roles on and off the field for the Pride. With so few returners, expect the returning group to play

a larger role including players with very limited to no experience. A few players who have already stepped into much larger roles are sophomore Timothy Brereton (zero games in one year), junior Mateusz Dziemian (eleven games in two years), and Ian Macala (one game in his one year).

after losing their first two games the Pride have started playing better for longer stretches in games. One thing Crabill knows is that with a young team inconsistency can be expected, how they bounce back will determine how they are able to sustain consistency. “With a young team it’s

Volleyball

campaign in which she tallied over 1,000 assists, has returned to directing the attack. “There is just not one person, I know Camryn [Bancroft]’s stats stand out, but ultimately I think she’d tell you that our defense is so good and so strong that it just makes her job easy. We just have a very talented, very versatile group,” Long explained. “You can see in our box scores that we can kind of match up with different lineups and I think everybody is always ready to play. I think that is probably the strength of our team and that is probably one of the messages we had this preseason; just

that we are super versatile and everybody’s gotta be ready.”

continued from Page 9

entire team that we have,” said Long. “Our three core values are trust, communication and relentlessness. I think Ana has just done a great job of getting herself in with our team, building relationships and connections. That’s the case with all of our players, so really I think everyone has just developed those three core values and we work on them every day.” The depth on this Pride roster is noteworthy, with young returning talent helping to lead the way. Sophomore setter Sara Labadorf, coming off of an excellent freshman

Outlook For the Pride there is no pulling punches, they are a young team with a ton of potential. Despite a slow start to the season

“The biggest challenge for me as a young coach is trying to stick with things that are most important to our culture” - Tommy Crabill

Outlook The first two weeks have been a test of strength for the Pride, and they have passed that test by winning five of their first six against very tough opponents. Their ability to lose, learn, and respond positively was on show in their emphatic five-set victory against NYU. After the Pride fell in the NEWMAC Championship Game and their season ended in the second round of the NCAA tournament, a bright future was promising. Long, entering her ninth season at the

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how to not compound mistakes,” Crabill said. “We’re going to make mistakes but we don’t get on guys for making mistakes it’s an expectation. Learning how to get up and play to the next moment is probably the biggest thing.” This is a team that has made the NCAA tournament each of the past three years, but with a different and much younger nucleus the Pride know they can only focus on what lays in front of them according to Costa. “Anything is possible as long as it’s in front of us. We can’t think about the stuff that has already happened. Whatever’s already happened, we have to put behind us. Anything we want to accomplish is still in front of us. Every new season, every new game,

you have to walk in thinking we can do anything we want to do.” Despite a rough start, also aided by some tough opponents, the Pride will look to their leaders to guide the team through the trials and tribulations a young team brings. It’s hard to count out a team with the track record that Springfield has had recently. But this will be the biggest test yet specifically for Coach Crabill. Despite being one of the youngest teams in the country, this is a team with a ton of potential and a lot of talent. If they find the consistency that is often tough for young players, this is a team that has a legitimate chance at making a run at their third NEWMAC title in four years.

helm, emphasized the importance of relationships on and off the court in preseason. Long said, “Ultimately every year is a different year, we had an outstanding Spring and really focused on our connections and communication. That’s how you get better in any relationship, and a team is a relationship.” She addressed her team with a family-like message. They are ready to win, and they are ready to win together; a single unit. “The message this year was that every time we step on the court, we need to keep in mind those three core values that we have: How is it that everyday we are going to have

purpose? How is it that every day we are going to trust one another? How is it that we’re going to be relentless in everything that we do?” Long preached. “Those three things are really important, and that is really just the message; if we have those three things, we’re going to be successful. Ultimately, we know how to play volleyball. We can pass and we need to improve, but I think ‘never be satisfied’ is probably the message, let’s continue to get better with every touch of the ball. This is a pretty good group for that.”

Sports

PAGE 12 Photo courtesy of Springfield College Athletics

September 12, 2019

One day at a time Pride field hockey optimistic in building momentum leading up to conference play Lily Depew, a freshman, has already carved herself an immenent role on the Springfield field hockey team.

By Tyler Browne @T_Browne1124

Last season, the Springfield College field hockey team was eliminated in the NEWMAC semifinals by Smith College. It was the end of a 12-6 campaign, but now the Pride is back. “I think each season is different,” said head coach Melissa Sharpe, who is going into her 16th season leading the Pride. “Every year is a different group of players. A few leave, a few come in, but each year, it’s a different dynamic.” Already, this new team has shown promise, especially in last Saturday’s matchup against Keene State. At halftime, the Pride were down 4-1, but Lily Depew, Emma Wesoloski and Kyra Ashe each scored a goal in the second half, forcing overtime. In the extra period, Taylor Low scored a game-win-

ning goal at the 63:10 mark. Sharpe couldn’t remember anything like it: “I was trying to remember over the weekend the last time we had that much of a deficit and came back. Three goals is a solid deficit at halftime. I’m not sure if we’ve [come back from] three before.” Something to look out for this year is the Pride’s offense. In their first four games, the team has already scored an impressive 20 goals, 10 of them coming in just their first game. Last season, the Pride averaged 4.3 goals per game, and 18.8 shots per game. Through the first four games of 2019, they are averaging 5 goals per game, and 26.3 shots per game. If they can keep these numbers up, they could go even further in the postseason than last year. The defense has also

been playing well, as the Pride have already won two shutouts, against Bridgewater and Fitchburg. “[A shutout] definitely sends a stronger message,” Sharpe said. Player to Watch One new player this year is already turning heads. In just her first game at the collegiate level, freshman Carley Torrance tied the record for assists in a single game with four. “[That] was awesome,” said Sharpe. “Especially because we had her playing a position she wasn’t as comfortable playing. She played more forward in high school and we had her playing a bit of midfield that day.” Sharpe says that the team was already aware of Torrance’s versatility: “She came in as a very talented player. We knew we were

going to be very versatile with her.” Torrance is listed on the roster as a midfielder, so it is expected that she will continue to play this newer position. She shares the single game assists record with midfielder Amanda Nusbaum, who now works with the Pride as a graduate assistant coach after graduating last spring. Outlook Sharpe has noticed versatility in not just Torrance, but many other members of the team. “[It’s] interesting because some of the goals aren’t coming from our forwards. It feels good to know that players at all positions on the field are able to step up and score for us. We’re happy with the output so far,” said Sharpe following Tuesday night’s win against

Fitchburg. Already, Sharpe has high hopes for the squad, saying that “We do [hope to reach the NEWMAC finals]. It’s early, we haven’t hit conference play yet. For us right now, it’s just trying to take each little thing we’re doing well in a game and build upon that.” This team definitely has a lot of potential. Despite losing Nusbaum, who led the Pride in assists last year, many other key players from last year, including 2018 points leader Kyra Ashe and senior forward Taylor Conley, are back for 2019. The early success, especially on the offensive side, is encouraging, and if the defense can hold off opponents, the Pride could win the NEWMAC title in November.

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(Jack Margaros/The Student)

Kayleigh Dale is coming off a record breaking freshman campaign, surpassing the single-season scoring record.

Kicking it into high gear

Springfield women’s soccer is eager to prove itself after “not liking” last year’s results By Hayden Choate @ChoateHayden

The Springfield College Women’s soccer team is ready for a new season. This year’s team brings a lot of talent and potential to the table and is ready to battle any team that they face. The 2018 season went well for the Pride as they finished with a 15-61 record, reaching the NEWMAC championship game, and achieving individual success within the team. However, the team fell short in the NEWMAC championship losing to MIT and losing in the ECAC tournament second round to Wilkes,

both games by one goal. The Pride hope to turn the page on last year’s end result. “We’ll deal with each game as it comes, there’s lots of tough games, so we just take each one as it comes,” said head coach John Gibson on his team’s ‘one game at a time’ mentality. Despite graduating key seniors including forward Amanda Wright, defenders Aly Morell and Rachel Feliu, along with goalie Izzy Inglese, the Pride return some important players to the lineup such as Chrissy Conley on defense, Kaleigh Dale at midfield and Sara Swetland at forward. In

addition to the returning starters, the team will get contributions from the freshmen. “We’ve got some talented freshman...there’s probably four or five that could really help.” Said Gibson, referring to forwards Adalia Malick and Nicole Sweeney and defenders Hannah Sullivan and Christina Syryla. Sophomore forward Maggie Barden and goalkeeper Emma O’Sullivan are transfers who will also have an impact this season. “I think we have picked up a lot of talent.” Returning scoring threats are midfielder Kaleigh Dale, forward Sara

Swetland, and forward Mackenzie Luiz. Along with Malick and Barden, the Pride will be able to generate great offensive chances and maintain pressure on the oppositions defense. On the back end, senior captain Chrissy Conley, who earned NEWMAC first-team all-conference honors last season, will lead the defense. Sophomore Heather Jennato will also play a huge role in the defensive unit this season. Junior Christy Russo who missed the entire season due to injury last year will also help shut down opposing team’s offense. Freshman Hannah Sullivan will also have a role

on the defensive unit that looks to keep the 1.03 goals against average from last year. Players To Watch Kaleigh Dale returns for her Sophomore season after not only earning 2018 NEWMAC rookie of the year, but breaking the Springfield College women’s soccer single-season scoring record as a freshman. Dale scored 20 goals last year for the Pride highlighted by four game-winning goals. “If she has another season like last season then she should be an

See Page 15

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Springfield football boasts versatility Mike Cerasuolo enters his fourth year as head coach for the football team. After succeeding Mike DeLong’s 32-year tenure at the helm of the program, Cerasuolo is going to see the freshmen he entered with as seniors. “It’s basically his first recruiting class, which is a pretty big deal as a head coach for sure,” senior tight end Tanner Jillson said. “The good thing, I think, is making the transition from coach Long (DeLong) to coach C (Cerasuolo), they have the same coaching philosophy in terms of who they’re bringing in as recruits.” Students often talk about a “full high school/college cycle,” which would be four years. Jillson transferred into Springfield College for the Spring 2018 semester and played last season, although had he been with the Pride from the start of his college career, he would be among the freshmen that started after DeLong’s retirement. “I definitely think that for some of the four-year seniors, it’s a big deal,” Jillson said. “It’s a big deal for coach C (Cerasuolo) and kind of where we’re trying to take the program and grow as one of the top teams in New England and the northeast, and hopefully be a playoff contender for the rest of his coaching career here.” Coming off a 17-14 New England Bowl win against Maritime, the program has a bright future under Cerasuolo. With the impressive 8-3 season in the past, it’s time to get the players ready for another campaign. “Obviously the first day is just getting the kids back onto campus and seeing the work they’ve done over the course of the summer,” Cerasuolo said the day before players moved in for preseason. “Just reuniting with them, continuing to build the relationships with the current guys and then the new guys… really excited to get the guys back on campus and get going with not only the on-the-field stuff, but the off-the-field stuff, and then some of the things that we believe in as a program.” *** Senior Chad Shade will return to the quarterback position after playing in just four games last season due to injury. Shade has proven to be a vital piece of the Pride’s offense, having rushed the ball 63 times for 401 yards in his 2018 stint as well as being voted National Athlete of the week by D3football.com. “Getting Chad back as healthy as we can get him for this Fall is a huge deal, just because of how big an

(Jack Margaros/The Student)

By Evan Wheaton @EvanWheaton

After losing its season opener, the Springfield College football team will look to bounce back on Saturday against Kean St at Stagg Field.

September 12, 2019

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impact he was last season only playing a couple of games,” Jillson said. “He played really well before he got hurt.” Halfback Hunter Belzo ended up filling in as quarterback for the Pride for much of the 2018 season. With Shade healthy, he will be returning to his familiar position in the backfield. The senior recently received Preseason All-America recognition from FreeAgentFootball. com. “You always have Hunter in your back pocket if ever need be because he took a lot of snaps for us last year,” Cerasuolo said. “(He) did an unbelievable job being put into a role that wasn’t familiar with him in an uncomfortable situation and made it comfortable for himself and his team.”

Shade has been rehabbing and Belzo has become a very versatile asset to the team. Between the two of them, the Pride will have more strength behind the offensive line heading into the season. “Having them both in the backfield as kind of separate weapons is a really impactful thing for our offense,” Jillson said. “It’s really going to be beneficial and hopefully we can keep Chad as healthy as possible throughout the season because he’s a huge impact player for our offense. His overall speed and athleticism is something that I don’t think a lot of teams have.” A notable loss on for the Pride is defensive end Nick Giorgio, having graduated last year. Giorgio was arguably one of the greatest student-ath-

letes in program history, having gained interest from the NFL after his remarkable collegiate career. Senior center Nick Bainter will emerge as a threeyear starter, having never missed a game in the past two seasons as well as playing in eight games during his freshman year. He was recently selected to the D3football.com Preseason All-America First Team, the fourth student-athlete in program history to hold the honor. Bainter will continue to be a prevailing force on the offensive line heading into the 2019 season. *** The Pride will remain local for the first two weeks, visiting Western New England and hosting Kean. They will face a tough task on the road on Sept. 21 when they

travel to New York to play against Union. Union’s defense held the Pride to just 126 total yards of offense (all rushing) in their last meeting on Stagg Field in the 2018 campaign. Despite the steep competition early in the season, Cerasuolo has stressed that he hasn’t circled any dates on the calendar for big games. “I don’t want to sound cliché but we don’t really talk too much about the opponents,” Cerasuolo said. “You know, obviously we do scouting reports and breakdowns on opponents, but we have to concern ourselves with us before anybody else.” The quarterback and halfback positions aren’t the only ones on the roster that will see changes from last year. Cerasuolo is optimistic about the incom-

ing freshmen class and what they have to offer the rest of the team. “We’re very fortunate that we have a lot of guys that will be competing for that (QB) spot and all spots on the team,” Cerasuolo said. “We tell everybody that depth is for a day, and that anything you get here, you’re going to earn.” Cerasuolo has already experienced a lot of success within the NEWMAC. In 2017, he led the Pride to 10-0 regular season as well as a NCAA D-III tournament berth — the first since 2006. With key players making returns as well as a promising freshman class, the Pride remain optimistic.

Women’s Soccer

and focus on every game, not only trying to help my team offensively, but just getting back on defense because obviously you can’t win games without defense,” she said.

This year’s team has their eyes set on getting back to the NEWMAC championship and winning their first title since 2015. Gibson believes one of the biggest keys to victory is going to be how the team comes together. “It’s got a lot of potential, we need to mold it into a team to make sure we’re not beating ourselves in any kind of way,” he said. The level of optimism is through the roof at the start of the season. “I’m really excited,” said senior captain Chrissy Conley. “We have a lot of depth on the team [...] everybody’s super motivated and we’ve got a

really good coaching staff to help us through.” “We definitely want to pick up where we left off last year,” Dale said. “Working towards winning our conference this year.” “We just need a lot of grit. We have to be able to fight, fight for each other... we just have to find that fire in us to ignite it and bring it all the way home,” said Conley. The Pride have a tough road ahead of them. Three-time national champion Williams College is coming to town on September 15th. Then the Pride will play host to Coast Guard on Sept. 21 in their first NEWMAC

action of the season. The team also has road games against Wesleyan (Sept. 17), Castleton (Oct. 1), Amherst (Oct. 14), and a rematch of last years NEWMAC championship game at MIT (Oct. 26). The 2019 Springfield College women’s soccer team is gearing up to make a deep run this season with the ending of last year as a chip on their shoulder, if they are able to stay healthy and produce offensively, the end result should be in favor of the Pride. Gibson said, “Last year was the first year for six years we didn’t win anything, and we didn’t like it.”

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All-American,” said Gibson. The question is will Dale be able to continue her scoring success now that she is the opponents focus on defense? Keeping the “one game at a time” mentality is something that Dale wants to work on this season. “This year something I want to work on is not letting anything get to me, just focusing, taking it game by game, playing with my team and putting the team first,” said Dale, who had a total of 44 points last year. “It’s just something I try

Although Gibson would like Dale to focus on her offense by “damaging the other team,” he admits that she can play on both halves of the field: “She does defend well, she’s good in the air, she’s got an incredible work rate, she never complains about anything, we have to tell her when to not work so hard.” Outlook

(Daniela Detore/The Student)

VOL. 134 NO. 1 SEPTEMBER 12, 2019