NIAGARA FALLS — Grand Island High School lost 12 seniors and its head coach following a year where they took the Niagara Frontier League soccer championship, but hopes for a repeat remain high.

“We lost 12 seniors last year and eight starters, so we have huge holes to fill,” said Grand Island coach Frank Butcher. “So far I’ve been really pleased with how practice has been going these last couple weeks, but you never know until you get out there.”

The Vikings saw coach Pete Kuehne leave the team, but former Grand Island junior varsity coach Butcher will lead a team he’s seen grow up for a number of years.

“I’m familiar with the guys and I know a lot of what they can do already,” Butcher said. “A lot of them have improved since I’ve seen them last, so it’s going to be interesting to see how they can do.”

Grand Island will have Karl Albrecht and goalkeeper Justin Lee lead a squad of young players that have played together for some time. Still, Butcher knows how tough it will be to do it all again.

“For us to repeat what we did last year would be real tough to do,” Butcher said. “For us to even do as well as we did in the NFL last year is going to be difficult as well.”

Niagara Falls

Wolverines head coach Rob Augustino is hoping a shut-down defense is the key to turning the tide for Niagara Falls.

After losing first team all league and All-Western New York honorable mention defender Paul Morrison, coach Augustino is hoping his three senior defenders can fill his spot and help keep the sheet clean for the Wolverines.

Senior defenders Tyler Bradley, Brandon Claps and Josh Colavecchia return to a squad loaded with young players who will see a lot of playing time on the varsity team. 

Speedy freshman Kyle Woods will take the striker role on a team that expects to counter-attack off its defensive style.

“This year we’d like to improve on our record from last year, but with that young nucleus I think it bodes well for the future,” Augustino said, whose team finished 1-13 in the NFL last season.

Niagara-Wheatfield

Coach John Coulter sees five starters including first team all-NFL Sam Abate on the back end, but looks to contend for a title after an 8-5-1 season last year.

Senior Ben Run returns for after landing a spot on the first team all NFL team and looks to attack from the midfield position. Juniors Nick Johnson and Jeff Calkins also look to have an increased role on a team that saw plenty of turnover this summer.

No other schools submitted information, including Niagara Catholic and Lewiston-Porter.