Brothers Zeus Rankin, left, and Saion Rankin are teammates on the Biddeford boys’ soccer team, which hopes to take another step forward after winning five games last season and qualifying for the Class A South playoffs. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographe

BIDDEFORD — When Willy Mpemba talks about Kristopher “Zeus” Rankin, his friend and co-captain on the Biddeford boys’ soccer team, it’s with a reverence reserved only for the most special people in one’s life.

“I look up to Zeus. Deep down,” said Mpemba, a senior defender for the Tigers. “I’ve learned a lot of stuff from him. After games, we’d go to his house, and he’d take time to talk to us about what we did good and what we did bad.”

A native of Okinawa, Japan, and the son of an American father and Japanese mother, Rankin and his brothers, Alex and Benjamine (known as Saion) came to Biddeford to live with their grandparents. In Biddeford, they could improve their English and work toward attending college in the United States.

Before moving to Biddeford, Zeus and Saion visited once, when Zeus was in fourth grade and Saion was in second grade.

“When I started coming here, it was kind of hard, the English part. But it’s getting easy,” Zeus said after a recent Biddeford practice. “I didn’t know anybody here, but I started playing soccer (for Seacoast United). We made a lot of friends on the soccer team.”

The Southwestern Maine Activities Association is full of talented players, and Zeus Rankin used to fly under the radar while playing for a Biddeford team that has never been among the league’s elite. Last season, the Tigers won five games and earned a spot in the Class A South preliminary round. It was the most wins by a Biddeford team in at least 20 seasons (Maine Principals’ Association Heal Point records go back to 2003). Over the last two decades, the Tigers had eight winless seasons and won either one or two games in 10 other seasons.

Zeus Rankin, a senior co-caption, practices last week with his Biddeford boys’ soccer teammates. Rankin and his younger brother, Sion Rankin, moved to Biddeford from Okinawa, Japan, to live with their grandparents. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographe

Last season, though, Zeus Rankin scored 12 goals, and his role in Biddeford’s improvement was noticed by SMAA coaches, who voted him a first-team all-conference selection. With other talented players around him, including Mpemba and his younger brother, Saion, Rankin thinks Biddeford can take another step forward this season.

“I hope this year we’re going to grow soccer in Biddeford. We’re trying to build up good players from a young age so that we can have a better team in the future,” he said.

Coach Paul Illiano said his team has plenty to work on, but it has improved.

“I’m excited and optimistic, but there’s definitely things we need to get better at. The goal would be to get a little bit better than we were last year and see where that can take us,” Illiano said.

The Tigers open their season Saturday at home against Kennebunk.

The best advice Alex Rankin gave his younger brothers about moving to Biddeford was simple. Don’t be shy.

“He said just talk to people, because everybody’s friendly,” Zeus said.

Zeus Rankin missed his freshman season because of an injury and began playing for the Tigers as a sophomore, alongside Alex, who was a senior. Illiano was impressed from Day 1.

“A great work ethic, great teammate. The effort and the hard work was just unbelievable,” Illiano said, pointing at Zeus and Saion standing nearby after a Waterhouse Field practice. “They never quit on a play or their teammates. They’re relentless. They don’t quit.”

And there were those postgame sessions, in which Zeus dissected the game with his teammates, breaking it down in order to make everyone a better player.

“You could already see that Zeus had leader potential,” Mpemba said.

Last year, Zeus was joined by Saion on the pitch. From his position on the back end, Mpemba has a perfect view to see plays unfold. What he sees between the Rankin brothers, the hustle and the passes back and forth, is impressive.

“Saion is a mini Zeus. What they do on the pitch is amazing,” Mpemba said.

Zeus said his brother makes such good crossing passes that all he has to do is tap it into the net, and he tries to reciprocate.

“He’s pretty good. He scores a lot. I just pass it to him,” Saion said.

Zeus hopes to attend Bridgton Academy next year, where he can do a postgraduate year and play soccer, with the goal of playing in college.