WISCASSET

First-year Wiscasset High School boys soccer coach Todd Souza knew coming into the season that his team was young.

He mostly had this knowledge because he coached many of this year’s athletes the past few years on some Wiscasset Middle School teams that saw great success.

Figure, Souza’s 20-player roster has nine freshmen and three sophomores. But, these “youngsters” have been spot-on after a pedestrian 3-3-1 start, which included shutout losses to Hall- Dale and St. Dom’s (plus a 0- 0 deadlock with Carrabec) and a 4-1 setback at Mt. Abram.

Since then, the Wolverines have gone 5-1-1 and have found their stride on the scoresheet, outscoring opponents 23-4 before a regularseason concluding 3-0 loss to unbeaten Hall-Dale on Tuesday. Up next for the Wolverines is a rematch with Carrabec on Saturday in a Western Maine Class C preliminary contest. The start time is 1 p.m.

“I have an expectation to win every game,” said Souza. “I think we can go through the playoffs and play with anybody. The few we lost at the beginning, we wouldn’t lose now. Our goal is to get better every game and be that team that no one wants to play in the playoffs.”

As with most first-year coaches, it has taken Souza some time to get his lineup set up despite his knowledge of his players. For instance, junior Mason Whitaker has bounced around, going from midfield, to sweeper and then stopper, while sophomore Brycson Grover moved from the front line to centermidfield, a move that has paid immediate dividends.

Let’s take a look at three of the key players for Souza’s squad, two sophomores and a freshman who’ve stepped up their games this season.

Brycson Grover

At 15-years-old, Grover has an even younger look to him.

“Being looked at as someone much younger, that doesn’t bother me at all, and gives me an advantage,” said Grover, the youngest son of Chet and Michelle Grover. “Teams don’t expect much from me, and then I put a couple goals in and they begin to take me seriously. When I started playing, they found out quickly what I could do.”

“Bryscon is relentless, a workhorse, and is always looking to make that next pass,” said Souza. “I think teams used to take him for granted, for about 20 to 30 seconds, and once they realize how relentless he is, not caring if you’re 5-foot-2 or 6- foot-2, he will go after it and never stop. He is in it for the group.

“He is going to be a great coach and thinks all the pieces. That is why he is so good at the midfield position because he is always thinking about what is going on. He just gets it.”

Grover teamed with fellow freshman JD Souza to form a lethal combination during a 7-6-1 regular season last year that ended with an 8-1 Western Maine Class C quarterfinal loss to St. Dom’s. This year, Grover has produced six goals and 11 assists, and has played solid defense.

“The hardest adjustment for me has been learning to work back and forth between defense and offense,” said Grover. “Before the high school season, many of us played summer soccer and I tried out midfield and liked it. When we began this season, we started slow for some reason and realized that we had to step it up, had to work harder in practices. We were able to start picking up some wins.

“We are improving every day, and there is still a lot to improve on. But, I believe that we are in the right position.”

“Brycson is a catalyst for this team, and when he is going, we are going,” added coach Souza.

Playing for a familiar coach, according to Grover, has helped his team get past the adjustments from Souza to former coach Wayne Benn.

“All of us have had coach Souza as a coach in middle school, so we knew what he expected, which was a big advantage,” said Grover.

Though he misses being a striker at times, Grover has been impressed with the emergence of freshman Russell Marr, who has stepped into the role of being that 1-2 offensive punch with JD Souza.

“Russell has done well up front, and the moves coach has made has definitely made us a stronger, more balanced team,” said Grover.

Russell Marr

This freshman has seemingly come out of nowhere, but coach Souza knew about Marr’s talent long before this season.

“Russell has a good skill set, another player with a high motor,” said the coach. “His adjustment to varsity soccer has been good. He has had a few tough stretches, but has put in the work. With Russell as a freshman, he can make some mistakes up front while learning to develop through trial and error. As his middle school coach, I was able to prep him for playing varsity soccer, which I think has helped.”

Marr, the middle child of Russell and Lisa Marr (the third of five kids ranging in age from 20 to six months) has produced, dishing out eight assists and chipping in three goals.

“This first year has been good and we’re doing good and working good as a team,” said Marr. “I knew I would be a striker coming in. It has been tough at times, but not as hard as I thought it would be. It is a lot more physical than it was in middle school.”

The freshman feels JD Souza has helped with his transition to varsity.

“JD and I work well together, and he was a freshman last year and went through it, so he can give me some advice,” said Marr. “We are working a lot better as a team, passing the ball, then we were earlier in the season. My goal is to score a lot of goals, and hopefully, win a championship. To win a championship would mean so much for this school and this community.”

JD Souza

This 15-year-old sophomore made quite an impact in his first varsity year last season.

He scored 16 goals and dished out seven assists, and almost immediately became a player opponents manmarked, doubled- and even triple-teamed.

“JD has seen a lot of manmarks this year, a lot of doubles, and the other guys have picked it up around him, putting in goals,” said his father and coach. “I think JD has handled the pressure. At the end of last year he was getting doubled and has learned to adapt. He drops the ball off, works with Russell a lot, and gets to different spaces to regather the ball.”

Despite facing tough defenses, JD has once again produced, leading the Wolverines with 13 goals and 12 assists.

“Playing up front with Russell has gone well,” said the sophomore whose younger sister Lily is also a soccer player. “Brycson at the midfield makes us stronger, and Russell stepping into that striker spot allowed us to make that move. I told Russell that there will be kids bigger than you, but you have to outwork them to have success and he has.

“I have been man-marked a lot, but that is another reason why our team had to step up. We are a team, not one person, and when we are clicking, it gives me a lot of room to work. We are a close team, having a team breakfast, and we are all good friends off the field, which is important.”

Coach Souza says he tries to treat his son like all of his teammates.

“We don’t talk about the game when we leave the field, and I praise him and try not to ask more of him, which is a challenge sometimes. But, he puts that pressure on himself to be a leader for this team,” said the coach.

Wiscasset received a lot of momentum from a 2-2 tie with rival Lisbon on Oct. 4.

In a scoreless game, senior Zach Ellison was given a red card ejection early in the second half, forcing the Wolverines to play a man short, along with Lisbon being awarded a penalty kick on the play.

The Greyhounds scored on the PK for a 1-0 lead, but instead of fretting about the loss of a player, Wiscasset picked up its intensity, tying the game on a Marr-to-Souza goal. Trailing 2-1, the Wolverines, behind a second Souza goal, from Grover, tied the game and finished in a 2- 2 double-overtime deadlock.

“We had to play for 20 minutes down a man, and our momentum seemed to grow as the game went on and we pulled out a tie there,” said JD Souza. “It was a big result and brought us together as a unit.”

“The Lisbon game really brought us together,” said Marr. “We had to play a man down for a long time, and we played really well. It was a big result.”

“I love this group,” added coach Souza. “They are good kids. We could have 600 kids at this school and I would still love this group. I don’t like to come down on them, and I realize that they give it their all every single time they take the field.”

As far as predicting where the Wolverines will end up this year? “I think we can go pretty far in the playoffs. Our defense and offense is good, and our goaltender is good,” said Marr.

“To do well in the playoffs would mean a lot,” said Grover. “Last year, we didn’t get very far, and that was disappointing. We want to be the ones to go far, knowing that we still have a couple more years of soccer here.”

“We’re still young, but I think we can surprise some teams in the playoffs,” added JD Souza. “For us, we have to keep our energy high. It would be a good boost for us to go far, but we also realize that we are young and have another couple years to grow and become better.

“Our goal is to win a state title in high school, whether it is this year, next year or the year after. To bring that trophy to our school would be the icing on the cake.”