Old Rochester Regional High School’s varsity soccer team has some fast players, but two in particular have the audience seeing double.

Identical twins Evan and Will Santos have been making a name for themselves on the team since they were bumped up from junior varsity after the season’s first game.

As freshman, the Santos brothers have impressed their more experienced teammates with their competitiveness.

“They’re pure athletes. They’re actually more aggressive than some of the kids we already have on the team,” Team Captain Teddy Costa said. “That’s a nice addition to have as freshmen, so they’re looking promising.”

Talking to Evan and Will, it becomes apparent pretty quickly that, as twins, they’ve had plenty of experience cultivating a healthy rivalry amongst themselves.

When asked if there’s any competition between them, they answer without hesitation, “Yes!”

When asked about their personality differences, there is less of a consensus.

“I’m more serious,” said Will.

“He’s serious, but in games I’m more intense,” said Evan.

“No you’re not. You always whine when I yell at you,” said Will.

“I don’t whine. It just doesn’t make sense that you’re yelling at me,” retorted Evan.

But before they started giving each other noogies, the boys admitted that their competitive natures benefit their game.

“That actually pushes us to be better,” said Evan.

“When we practice it makes us practice harder. If we see the other twin performing then it pushes us to go harder,” said Will.

Playing two different positions also helps balance out the competition. Evan usually plays midfield while Will plays defense.

Coach John Sullivan said the twins have risen to the middle of the pack quickly, despite being the youngest members of the team.

“It’s been a good experience,” said Evan. “I was surprised that we were not harassed a lot.”

But, that doesn’t mean their teammates can tell them apart.

“They just say, ‘Santos!” and one of us comes running,” said Will.

“We confuse the two of them often,” said Team Captain Robby Magee. “We give them crap for that.”

After living with each other for their whole lives, Evan and Will don’t mind a little ribbing from their teammates and said they both look forward to improving their game.

“It’s good having older players because they can teach you,” said Evan.