ROCHESTER — The Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School girls soccer program grew from 18 players last year to 28 players for the 2024 season. Head coach Paul Soucy believes there will be plenty of growth on the field as well.

The Cougars took the field Monday, Sept. 9 for a season-opening match at home against Bristol-Plymouth Regional Technical High School.

Despite a 7-0 defeat, Soucy said his team has what it takes to have a successful season.

“I’m optimistic for the season,” said Soucy. “We are definitely not where we need to be yet, but we will get there.”

The first few weeks of practice for the Cougars have been focused on getting younger players more acclimated to having the ball at their feet.

“We’ve been trying to iron out the game of soccer,” Soucy said. “We’re getting them used to touches and the right style of short, fundamental passing.”

After trailing 3-0 at halftime, the Cougars defense and goaltender Maeve Hunter made a number of key stops in the second half to keep Old Colony close before a series of late Bristol-Plymouth goals put the game out of reach.

“They never give up,” said Soucy. “They definitely hustle hard and are willing to learn. They don’t like the outcome and will use it as fuel for the rest of the season.”

Old Colony finished with a record of 5 wins, 11 losses and 2 ties in 2023. This season, Soucy thinks the team can improve on that record enough to reach postseason play.

“On paper, name for name, we have a good squad out there,” he said. “I’d love to get into tournament play, whether it is vocational or state. I do think we have the roster to do it and we can get the record to place this year.”

The Cougars’ next home game will be Monday, Sept. 16 at 3:30 p.m. against Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical High School.