One of head coach Mike Thornton’s expectations for his Coupeville soccer team this year is to be competitive each match, and he can look to nine returning letter winners to help reach that goal.

Among the returnees is junior Amanda d’Almeida, a first-team, all-Cascade Conference selection last fall after being a second-team choice as a freshman.

Also back is senior Amanda Montana, a two-time, second-team all-conference selection, and two who earned honorable mention in 2010, senior Cassidi Rosenkrance and junior Anna Bailey.

The other letter winners are senior Grace LaPoint and juniors Stephanie Hilkey, Vanessa Bernales, Kelsey Miranda and Haley Marx.

Senior letter winner Emily Burchfield is injured and may rejoin the team later.

Thornton said freshmen Erin Rosenkrance, Jacquelyn Ginnigs, Pagie Waterman and Marisa Etzell “could help some right away.”

Thornton said the team’s strengths are the “returning players and new players understand the basics.” He added, they “have a great working attitude about them, they want to get better each training and all 22 players are working really hard.”

Thornton said the team needs to work on “playing as a unit” and “finishing our opportunities.”

“It looks like we are headed in right direction,” he said, “and make positive progress every training.”

Archbishop Murphy and Lakewood are the league title favorites this fall, according to Thornton. Last season the Wolves were 2-12 in league, 4-13 overall, and Thornton said he expects to win more games this year and to “work to be ready for district.”

Coupeville, along with all of the Cascade Conference, will field a JV team this fall. Thornton said they will modify the rules for those schools which can’t field a full squad, playing 8-on-8, for example.

Coupeville opens the season with four road matches, starting at Concrete Tuesday, Sept. 6, at 5 p.m.

The first home match is Tuesday, Sept. 20, with King’s at 6 p.m.