After a nearly perfect regular season last year, the soccer team lost their first district game to Eureka in a stunning upset. A year later, the team looks to rebound with a team stocked with 15 juniors and five seniors.

Chris Kenny, coach, said the experience of last season plus the veteran roster will help the team be more successful this year. Kenny said while it will be hard to replace seniors such as Mark Goldstein, Will Valentine, and Ryan Marks, he thinks this year’s group of seniors, along with help from the juniors, will be able to fill the shoes left by the class of 2012.

“On paper, we have a lot of quality returning players,” Kenny said. “There will be a role for the seniors, but the juniors are just as important.”

Kenny said teamwork will be vital to the success of this year’s team. He said the team will never have one player doing everything, but rather it will be a shared effort among the entire team.

Nick Werner, junior, said losing in the first round of districts last year was hard because as the first place finisher in the conference, the team should have won in districts as well. Werner said while last year was a team loaded with seniors who will be hard to replace, there were also a good number of sophomores who now have an extra year of experience under their belt.

Werner said he thinks the team will win the conference again this year and have a good chance at winning the district title that eluded them last season.

The first game is Sat. August 25 at St. Charles West at 11 a.m.