The Bedford High School boys soccer team is hoping with age comes wisdom. A few more wins wouldn’t hurt either.

For the first time, the Bulldogs have a roster chock full of veterans. Sixteen players return to the team, and nine seniors take the field.

Head coach Stuart Pepper said he noticed the difference in this group as soon as players reported for their first session.

“It’s eye-opening to see how they’ve grown taller and thicker,” said Pepper. “They just look like senior men instead of junior boys. That counts for a lot in terms of their presence on the field.”

Last season the Bulldogs were tough on defense but struggled to score goals at times. That was not an issue during the team’s season opener on Friday, Aug. 28.

During the game, Bedford took to the road and cruised past Con-Val, 4-1, behind three goals from freshman Erik Martel. “He’s ready to start for this team and be a leader,” said Pepper. “He’s the real deal in terms of ability on the ball, and he understands the game well.”

In addition, the coach said he expects Dan Connelly and Matt Cote to provide explosiveness on offense; Cote scored six goals in four preseason games.

Though the team was competitive last year, it didn’t always show in the standings. “Kids were frustrated (last season) because we could play with just about anybody, but you don’t always get your just reward,” said Pepper. “We understand that to keep up with the stronger teams we need to be fit. We’re as fit as we’ve been since I have been here.”

Mike Marinelli returns at midfield, and Pepper said he is a player who can dominate the position.

On defense, Brian Comiskey and Kyle Clark provide senior leadership to the team along with Jeff Gancarz, who’s tasked with keeping opponents off the scoreboard at goalie.

“We were a bit more defensively minded, so we couldn’t get a number of bodies forward to create as many chances as we’d like last season,” said Pepper. “We trust our defense so much now that we can push some more players forward and put some shots on net.”

In addition to Martel, two other freshmen, Casey Scheul and backup goalie Taylor Wallace, suit up for varsity.

Perhaps the most important change the Bulldogs’ mentor and players hope to make is a mental one.

“We need to toughen up and get rid of that losing feeling and habit,” said Pepper. “Our seniors have been losing for two years now, and they’ve had enough of it.”