Sat, 09/05/2015 - 7:45am

BEN BULKELEY, Staff Reporter

Colleen Hendricks is the lone returning senior to the Wiscasset High School girls soccer team this fall. File photo

Before the season began, the Wiscasset Middle High School girls varsity soccer team found itself in a fight.

The team almost didn't have enough players to field a full team in a season that will see one of the Wolverines' former rivals bow out because of low numbers.

Head coach Duane Goud said the team was short-handed in the preseason, but as the school year has started, the ranks have filled out.

“We are still fighting for numbers,” he said. “We lost eight seniors from last year's team, and we only have one senior returning this year. When preseason started we had 11 or 12 girls signed up, and now we're up to 15, 16, and still gaining daily.”

Wiscasset will have to adjust its schedule this year after Western Class C team Telstar had to cancel its Friday, Oct. 9, game due to too few players.

But when the Wolverines square off against Monmouth on Friday, Sept. 9, the team is expected to be at full strength.

Although only Colleen Hendricks returns to represent the senior class, the Wolverines are expected to complement her with a strong core of returning juniors and sophomores.

Goud said the early returns on the team have been positive, as the young core played together all last season during a 5-8-1 campaign that saw Wiscasset narrowly miss the playoffs.

“I think this is a good group of girls, they've all played together and they are working together,” he said.

Goud said that despite his team's youth, the goal remains the same.

“We want to win as many games as it takes to get into the playoffs, then see what happens,” he said. “So far, they've all been very positive and they are working together.”

Goud said that camaraderie is likely to be the team's strength, as the Wolverines communicate well on the field.

One of the eight seniors to depart a year ago was goalkeeper Kayla Gordon, who prowled the net from 2013 to last year.

This year, it will likely be another Gordon in net for the Wolverines — Kayla's younger sister, Lindsey. The sophomore goal keeper will be behind a strong defense, Goud said, adding that he thought the team's midfield could again be a strength.

“We should be pretty strong in the midfield, we just need to find that finishing touch (to put the ball in the goal),” he said. “But the defense should be pretty solid.”

Goud said the Wolverines will have their work cut out for them, as the newly-minted Class C South league is one filled with veteran teams and perennial powerhouses.

“It's going to be difficult; there are a lot of teams who are returning a lot players and we're going to be junior and sophomore-heavy,” he said.

The Wolverines will kick off their season in Carrabec on Monday, Sept. 7 and will return home Sept. 17 to face the Lisbon Greyhounds.