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Tue, 09/01/2015 - 8:45am

BEN BULKELEY, Staff Reporter

Chayse Reed goes up to block a shot during practice Thursday, Aug. 27. BEN BULKELEY/Wiscasset Newspaper

When it comes to the 2015 Wiscasset Middle High School boys soccer team, the only thing that has seemingly changed is the name of the school.

Head coach Chris Cossette is back for his second year at the helm, and the team remains largely unchanged from a year ago.

Well, maybe some things have changed, Cossette said. For one, the massive incoming junior class (10 players) and large sophomore class come into the year with an extra year of experience. Also new for this year are four seniors (Brycson Grover, Chayse Reed, Sam Storer and Alex Webber) and what could be eight freshmen filling out the ranks.

Also new is that because the team is expected to have 27 players, there will be several junior varsity games on the schedule to allow some of the younger players some time on the pitch, Cossette said.

Those new and familiar faces will be tasked with coming together and gelling as a team if the Wolverines want to return to the Western Class C playoffs, Cossette said.

“We’re bringing a lot of kids back from last year's team,” he said. “We lost only two seniors last year, so this is basically the same group.”

Last year, a young Wolverines team went 3-11 in a loaded Class C West division. This year, the Wolverines also move to the newly-minted Class C South.

But, holdover powerhouses such as Hall-Dale (13-1 in 2014), St. Dominic’s (10-2-2), along with familiar foes Carrabec (7-7) and Lisbon (7-6-1) should make the South division a competitive race to the playoffs.

This year's team is again expected to be buoyed by a strong defense with solid midfield play and an improved attack. Leading the way again for Wiscasset upfront is junior Russell Marr, who scored seven goals a year ago to lead the team.

The back-end of the defense could sport some different looks when compared to the team a year ago, Cossette said. Goalie Conlon Ranta returns, but so does backup Sam Strozier, who has impressed enough to be in talks to start a few games for the Wolverines.

Along with mainstays on defense like Storer, junior Kevin Lynch and Alex Strozier the team will be able to throw different looks at its opponents, Cossette said.

“We'll be able to mold our team to what we see on the field,” he said. “We should be able to exploit what other teams are trying to do, and we'll be able to change our approach at anytime. That's something we couldn't do last year.”

But with a more experienced team, Cossette said he will be able to trust his players to switch up schemes to throw Western Class C teams for a loop.

That chemistry is likely to be the team's secret weapon, Cossette said.

“They've built on what they learned last year,” he said. “When you watch the juniors, seniors and even some of the sophomore who played last year, they are really helping to bring along (the freshmen). The seniors have especially helped everyone get on the same page. The sophomores played a lot last year and they've been telling the freshmen what to do.”

On the field, the team will again be stout defensively, Cossette said, and should be able to find the back of the net more this year, too.

“We're really focusing on our touches and controlling the tempo of the game,” he said. “We want to get as many players as we can involved. The defense should be stronger this year, too.”

Add in an offense that returns one of the league's more prolific scorers in Marr, plus Ethan James, Brandon Goud, Nate Woodman, Max Sampson and Reed on rotation and the Wolverines should offer some punch, Cossette said.

“Brycson will play some up front, too — we'll move him all around,” he said. “We should have really good speed on the outside.”

Cossette said with remaining preseason games against Morse and Richmond High Schools the Wolverines will get a look at two tough area teams before the season starts.

“It will be good to see how we play against them,” he said. “Richmond is a really strong team — they could compete in any class. Morse is also very solid. Both are finesse teams, so it will be good to see how it all plays out.”

After the preseason wraps up the Wolverines will travel to Carrabec for their first game.