The Cranston East and West girls soccer teams kick off their seasons this week and each club is looking forward to making noise as the new year begins.

The Bolts welcome in new coach John Souza, who most recently coached the boys program at Johnston. East had a solid campaign last fall, finishing third place in the division and reaching the quarterfinals.

With eight seniors returning, East is looking to once again reach the playoffs and go on a deep postseason run. East captains include Isabella Acevedo, Lily Guyon, Tia Sanzaro and Lia Jimenez.

One big question for the Bolts will be the keeper position. Last year’s breakout goalie Isabella Dupret is likely going to miss the entire season with injury, so Aubree Josephson is going to be filling in after spending last year as a defender.

Although the Bolts have some questions that need to be answered, Souza feels that the team is trending in the right direction as the season approaches.

“I think these girls are starting to build their confidence, they’re excited. The captains are leading the team well and they’re a supportive group of kids. I have a lot of confidence in them,” said Souza.

The Falcons are excited to get back to work this fall as they return nearly their whole roster from last year’s team. West struggled to just three league wins last season as it relied heavily on underclassmen, but returns six seniors and nine juniors this year.

Having so much familiarity has allowed the team to pick up where it left off last season as it continues to rebuild.

“The biggest difference this year is that we have continuity. We don’t have any superstars, but they’re working really well together and playing for each other. And other years we may have had a wider range of abilities but this year we have been consistent,” said coach Jeremy Sherer.

The keeper position is firmly in the hands of junior Oceanna Orlandi, who has grown into one of the state’s best and could be the unquestioned top goalie by fall’s end.

“Oceanna returns and she is probably the best keeper in the state,” said Sherer.

Key returners for the Falcons include Sarah Pimental, who led the team in scoring last season, as well as Thea Marses, Jillian Langley, Gabriella DeFilippo and Harper Cohn.

There are also six sophomores on the team that expected to fill out the rest of the roster.

“There has been and enormous difference with the sophomores and their impact. The way they see the game. Their ability to see things hypothetically, they’re movement, athletically. They have improved,” said Sherer.

As a team building exercise, Sherer asked the girls to each come up with goals for the season. The most consistent focus was on chemistry and playing as a unit, which Sherer was excited to see.

“They all were on the same page and indicated that they really just wanted to have a fun season, support each other and not have any drama,” said Sherer. “That always translates onto the field.”