At Auburn Mountainview, higher expectations are the rule.

And not just on the field, according to coach Cary Davidson.

“We have a really big expectations every year for things where talent doesn’t matter,” he said. “Like how they do in the classroom, their behavior, their attitude, coachability and work ethic. We always keep that bar really high.”

Last season the team not only excelled off the pitch – the Lions were the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association 3A Girls Soccer Academic Champions – but also on the field, where they cruised to a 12-4-2 overall finish and qualified for the state tournament for the second time in school history.

This year the Lions will have many holes to fill with the graduation of seven seniors, including South Puget Sound League 3A first-team all-stars Hannah Morse, Kristin Herren and Ali Clarkson. Also gone are second-team selections Deanna Colburn, Megan Telstad and Hillary Frett and honorable mention Brianne Wills.

“So what we have is an interesting year,” Davidson said

This season’s varsity roster features a slew of underclassman, including three freshman, three sophomores, nine juniors and just four seniors.

“They’re all good players and starters from last season,” Davidson said of his senior group.

Co-captains Hillary Frett, Sydney Coleman and Alayna Wagers will provide the bulk of the leadership. Coleman and Frett are the team’s only returning all-SPSL 3A selections, both second-teamers, from last season.

“They’ll take on the leadership role,” Davidson said. “They have to, they’re seniors. That’s their role to lead, and they will.”

While Wagers and Frett will look to lead as defenders in the backfield, Coleman will drive the team from the center midfield position.

“We’re looking for her energy there,” Davidson said.

With the graduation of Colburn, the Lions will have junior Jessica McAllister between the pipes this season.

“She’s an excellent goalkeeper, technically very sound,” Davidson said. “She plays on a good club team and gets lots of training.”

The key to Auburn Mountainview’s success this season will be finding a consistent goal scorer.

“Hannah took all the pressure away, and we don’t have that quality of forward right now,” Davidson said. “We’re going to have to get goals from other places, from our midfielders and set pieces. We’re going to have to do that if we’re going to score any goals.”

Initially, Abi Alfrey was expected to shoulder a chunk of the scoring load. But the team’s top forward broke her collarbone at a jamboree and likely will not return to action until late October at the earliest.

Also out for the season will be sophomore defender Allison Frett with an ACL injury.

Despite the losses, both to graduation and injury, Davidson is optimistic his underclassman will step up.

“We’ll be competitive because the character qualities in these girls are very high,” Davidson said. “They are some of the greatest kids on the planet for sure, as far as how hard they work and their willingness and desire to play for the team. So we’ll be competitive. We’ll give everybody a great game. The big thing is that they can all move and play. So I think the future looks pretty bright for us.”

Davidson continued:

“We have to be much, much better at the end of the season than we were at the beginning. And if I feel like that happened, then I’m pretty satisfied.”