Fall sports are officially kicking off. The student section psych themes for the games are posted on the Facebook group, “WHS Fan Section 2023.” Below is some information about each sport, the captains and key players to watch out for, identified by coaches and players.

Boys Soccer
Coming off of a successful season with a record of 10 wins, five ties and three losses, the boys varsity soccer team started its season off on a high note with its season opener against Mansfield High School on Wednesday, Sept. 7 at WHS, winning with a score of 4-0.

“We [had a] long preseason,” sophomore boys soccer player Jack Gavron said. “Being able to hangout with the team and getting to know everyone has just been a good experience. We have been training hard and we are hoping to get our first win of the season. We haven’t played Mansfield before, so it will be fun to see what the competition level is like.”

Captains: seniors Jake Crawford, Luke Caples and Ryan Prince

Players to watch: Crawford, senior Grayson Getz, junior Xande Santos and sophomore John Pordage

Girls Soccer
A new coach means a fresh start for the girls varsity soccer team as head coach, Lisa McNamara, is shifting from coaching the junior varsity to the varsity team. Not only does the team have a new coach, but it also has four freshmen, five new sophomores, three new juniors and three new seniors. After a successful undefeated varsity jamboree in Needham on Aug. 27, the team has continued its streak with its 1-0 win on its season opener against Bedford on Thursday, Sept. 8 at Bedford High School.

“The team dinner was really fun,” sophomore girls soccer player Zoe Mittelsteadt said. “I think we are going to have a really close knit team with a lot of good, fun people on the team.”

Captains: seniors Samantha Tyska, Morgen Warner and junior Lily Mele

Players to watch: Tyska, Mele, Mittelsteadt and sophomore Jackie Rainville

Football
Last year, the varsity football team was packed with seniors, meaning that this season, the team has to rebuild. The young team faced its first opponent, Needham, on Friday, Sept. 2, but fell short during the scrimmage. Looking ahead, the team will have its home opening game against Hopkinton on Friday, Sept. 9.

“It should be a good game [against Hopkinton],” senior football player Jake Zocco said. “We have a young team, with a lot of juniors and sophomores starting on the team this year. It should be a good year overall.”

Captains: seniors Nathan Mazokopos, Yaseen Nguyen and Anthony Cavallo

Players to watch: senior Ulysses King, junior Mehki Walker and sophomore Max Dresens

Field Hockey
Due to the rain, the field hockey team’s first game on Sept. 6 was canceled. However, the team won its first game on Sept. 8 at Newton North High School. This year, the team will continue the tradition of having a co-ed team, with seniors Derek Roberts and Ethan Brandaleone playing on a predominantly girls team.

Captains: seniors Jun Waye, Deirdre Brown and Jessie Feist

Players to watch: seniors Waye and Sophie Stowell and sophomores Finley Knapp and Lily Cerne

Girls Volleyball
Early on in the season, the girls volleyball team fell to Lexington with a score of 2-1 on Sept. 6. They expressed that they were hungry for victory and pulled through with a 3-1 win against Belmont at WHS on Sept. 7.

“I am really excited,” junior girls volleyball player Vida Moradi said. “I think it’s a really good group of girls, I’m excited to see how our team plays throughout the season and how we bond together.”

Captains: seniors Ella Zachery, Elena Liu, Olivia Tawakol and Allie Chase

Players to watch: Zachery, Liu, Tawakol and junior Juliana Perdomo

Golf
The golf team has graduated a few seniors, but has many returning players, which creates an experienced and bonded team. Although the team didn’t get many wins last year, it is hoping to make a comeback this season.

“I think our team is a lot stronger this year,” senior captain Austin Russell said. “I think all of our match players improved and we had a lot more interest in tryouts this year. We had 22 kids trying out, so we should have a really strong team.”

Captains: senior Lucy Grasso and Russell

Players to watch: Russell, Grasso, senior Brendan O’Rourke and sophomore Spencer Kates.

Cross Country
The cross country team will have its first meet against Weston on Sept. 14 at Wayland. With lots of summer training, some athletes will be heading into the race hoping to beat their personal best times. Last year, the team sent two runners, sophomores Luke Chisum and Owen Williams, to the MIAA All States and the team has high hopes for qualifying more athletes to the meet this year.

“I think we are going to do a lot better than last year because our varsity team last year didn’t have any seniors,” junior cross country runner Daniel Narvaez said. “Hopefully we make states this year because last year we were only a couple of points away.”

Captains: seniors Thomas Creavin, Will Morris, Mathew Frank, Zachery Grossman, Bella Thoen, Grace Marto and junior Selena Liu

Players to watch: Narvaez, Chisum, Williams, Thoen and sophomore Arya Samaratunga

Crew
The Wayland-Weston crew program has seen lots of success after years and years of achievements at junior nationals, states and other high-level regattas. Last spring, the girls four boat placed No. 11 in the nation. Also, the girls varsity eight boat has secured a spot at the Head Of the Charles Regatta as they qualified last year.

“I think our team will see a lot of success and improvement this season,” senior captain Sophia Xie said. “Everybody has been working so hard on both their personal and team goals, it’s definitely going to pay off.”

Captains: Xie, senior Megan O’Donnell, junior Sophie Roman and three Weston rowers.