Caney's remarkable season means future is bright for Women's Soccer
North Adams, MA- In the world of MCLA Women's Soccer, if you can be mentioned in the same breathe as scoring sensation Jess Tietgens, you've had a remarkable career. Tietgens, who is the all-time leading scorer in Trailblazer history with a staggering 199 points and 88 goals, led MCLA to its last conference championship in 2010. To be in the conversation is an achievement unto its own. To be in the same sentence after one year is unprecedented territory. Enter Trailblazer Natalie Caney.
Caney came to MCLA from the Western Massachusetts powerhouse Belchertown Orioles. She had a decorated career during high school that included three sectional titles and a trip to the state finals a year ago. Even with that track record, nobody could predict the success she had right away at MCLA. Caney was tabbed a first team All-Conference selection while also earning the MASCAC Rookie of the Year award, which coincidentally was last earned by Tietgens. Caney earned the conference's rookie of the week award an astounding five times this season.
In her first collegiate contest, she recorded a hat trick. That game turned out to be a familiar story as she would turn the trick on a pair of other occasions throughout the year. Following the scoring outburst in the opener, comparisons to the high scoring Tietgens quickly began. Caney would go on to score 17 goals, which would tie the all- time freshman mark set by Roberta Smith back in 1987. She quickly became the defensive focus for opponents who would typically mark her and try to play the forward physical. The opponents' game plan against Caney was quite visible for MCLA Head Coach Deb Raber.
"Natalie was a known player coming out of high school. Many of the coaches we play against already knew her style of play. She was often marked and there was even one school that chose to double her. Her biggest adjustment came with handling the physical play. It was not at all uncommon to see intentional rough play against her and as the season went on I think she did better with handling that kind of play," Raber stated when asked about how Caney handled the attention.
The unique ability to score has always been with Caney. She has the tactical skills to go along with the physical ability which make her a lethal scoring threat from anywhere on the pitch. Raber credits Caney's work ethic as a major reason for her success. "Natalie never stops working. She fights hard for every ball. Her runs are more sophisticated than most in the league and we gave her the freedom to play her style," she stated.
The mild mannered Caney wasn't quite sure what to expect when she took the field for the first time. Even with her successes', she never let expectations get in the way.
"I expected a chance to compete, but not necessarily score as many goals as I did," Caney recanted after her season. "I was surprised by how quickly I was able to assert myself into Coach Raber's system."
While the talented freshman will be marked throughout the remainder of her career, she knows that her best days are ahead of her.
"I want to go to work on the simple things," Caney said. "I will need to work on moving off the ball, but more importantly I want to be able to create more opportunities for my teammates in the future."
The Trailblazers finished up Caney's rookie season with an 8-10 record that included a 1-0 defeat to eventual MASCAC champion Bridgewater State in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs. Caney knows that while scoring goals and receiving personal accolades are great, she really wants what Tietgens' Trailblazers were able to achieve, a MASCAC Championship. With Caney on board, that dream just might become a future reality.