Vikings boys soccer looks to make playoff push in 2025
With fall sports kicking into action, Wareham Week is catching up with each team to get the scoop on the upcoming season, who the players to watch are and more.
The boys soccer team is coming off a three win, 14 loss and one tie record in 2024 and Wareham Week Editor Bobby Grady went down to the boys soccer practice to talk with Head Coach Evan Wilga.
Q: How are you feeling about the season and what are the expectations?
A: We have a good team. We have a lot of older players this year and we have some newer players that should make an impact. Playoffs should be on the table and if not that would be a poor season for our standard.
Q: What has changed from last year to this year?
A: We had some struggles scoring last year and it seems like we should have that fixed this year. The younger kids that had to play a lot of minutes last year have really matured. A lot of those eighth and ninth graders that played all 18 games finally know what a full season feels like in a varsity sport so I think they’ve made the initial steps to be better players. We returned our leading scorer and Standard Times Superteam player Boon Ouelett so we should have a good season.
Q: What are the team’s strengths and what are some areas for improvement?
A: This team is very close knit. They play a lot of sports together, almost 60% of them play tennis for me so they’re together two seasons out of the year. A lot of them hang out after school together so camaraderie on the team is great and I think that’ll really show when they start playing together.
Q: How is being close knit off the field going to translate to on-field success?
A: I’ve already noticed they’re always in a good mood and always ready to participate, do whatever we’re doing in practice and lock in. In years past we’ve struggled a bit with soccer terminology and stuff like that. A lot of kids come to me having played soccer, then they take five or six years off and come back in high school and they have to relearn things. This year it wasn’t as big of a step because the town soccer team supplied us with six eighth graders. It’s a huge addition for us to have those younger kids.
Q: Who are the players to watch for this year?
A: Definitely Boon Oulette, he’s a senior captain and John Varden is back in net this year. It’s his second year playing soccer and he did really well last year. Johnny Fontig is a captain who has played every game since he’s been here. Watch Brett Brophy defensively and Jackson Cabe is our center midfielder this year.
The Vikings start their season on the road against Norfolk Agricultural High School Monday, Sept. 8 at 4 p.m. and their first home game is Wednesday, Sept. 10 at 3:30 p.m. against Bristol County Agricultural High School.