Wiscasset Middle High School’s varsity soccer teams began practice this week for the fast approaching Mountain Valley Conference season which begins in just two weeks.

The Wolverine boys are practicing from 5 to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, while the girls practice 6 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. The girls have strength conditioning practices at the community center pool and gym scheduled for 5:30 a.m. Tuesday and 6 a.m. Thursday.

This Saturday, Aug. 24 the girls will take part in the annual “Kickoff Classic,” a round robin soccer tournament at Richmond Middle High School. The abbreviated games are 25 minutes long and played on the Patrick R. Coughlin fields behind the school at 132 Main St.

Coach Duane Goud said the Wolverines’ first game is set for 9 a.m.; the tournament concludes at around 2 p.m. About 10 high schools are participating. Todd Souza is returning again this season to serve as assistant soccer coach.

Both the boys’ and girls’ teams will compete at the Class C level this season. This is a change from last year when the girls were at the lower D level. The Maine Principals Association sets the designations which are based on student enrollment. The Wolverine girls had played at D since 2017.

The classification impacts the heal standing determining which schools qualify for the postseason tournament and who they’ll play. Most of the other MVC members are C high schools.

WMHS will host two pre-season games; the first is Thursday, Aug. 29 with Temple Christian of Waterville. The girls play at 6 p.m., and the boys, coached by Chris Cossette assisted by Devin Grover, take the field under the lights at 7:30.

On Sept. 3, the Wolverines will scrimmage Richmond; the boys play at 5 with the girls’ game following at 7. WMHS and Richmond don’t play each other during the regular MVC soccer season. Looking ahead to the regular season, the Wolverine girls open at home against the Hall-Dale Bulldogs at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 5. The following afternoon, the boys begin their season with a long bus ride to North Anson where they’ll play the Carrabec Cobras.

WMHS assistant principal-athletic director Warren Cossette said the annual homecoming games will be Saturday evening, Sept. 28 against Buckfield High School, a class D school which joined the MVC this year.

Boothbay Region High School students are once again invited to play on the Wolverine boys’ soccer team, added Cossette. One BRHS student played on Wiscasset’s summer soccer team.

WMHS and BRHS are again combining their cross-country running programs. Cossette said WMHS boys and girls will travel with the Boothbay Region Seahawks competing as individuals, although the combined high schools are scored together as one team.

Cossette is coaching the Wolverine runners assisted this season by Josiah Winchenbach, WMHS’s track and field coach.

The combined teams are set to run Friday, Aug. 30 at the Cougar Challenge at Dirigo High School. The teams will depart at 1 p.m. The first regular MVC meet is Friday, Sept. 20 at Monmouth. All of the meets are away and most begin at 4:15 with the girls’ race being held first.