Last year, the Goffstown girls soccer team took a couple steps forward.

This year, the Lady Grizzlies hope to make a giant leap in that same direction.

Goffstown improved on a one-win 2006 with four victories in ’07 and handed undefeated Class L No. 1 Manchester Central its only blemish of the season – a 1-1 midseason tie.

All indications, said second year coach Larry Houghton, point toward continued progress. “I think we’ve definitely improved from last year,” he said. “I think what you’ll see is an improvement in record, along with an improvement in distribution of the ball and hopefully a little more goal scoring.”

With 11 seniors, this season may be the team’s best chance to excel in Class L, at least for the next couple years, said the coach. “Good for this year, not so good for the future,” Houghton said with a smile. “But we do have a couple strong underclassmen who have shown the ability to get the ball in the net during practices and scrimmages this year.”

Among those youngsters, sophomore Emily Ellis and junior Andye Foley have stood out, and freshman Maddy Lynch, said the coach, will spend time at both the varsity and JV level in preparation to take over as the starting sweeper in 2009.

Still, Houghton knows the team lacks depth, and if it’s to compete with the top teams in the state, it’s the veterans who will be the difference makers. He’s tabbed seniors Stephanie Baker, Nikki Wilkinson, Heather Jo Wallace, Ashley Lynch and Hannah Taylor to captain this year’s unit. Ashley Gregory controls play as the team’s center-midfielder and Julie Clark minds net to start the season, though she continues to compete with a handful of freshmen eager to see playing time.

“We definitely have some strong experience we’re going to rely on this year,” he said, adding the 2008 schedule is much more favorable to the team than in 2007.

“I would be disappointed if we finish less than .500. I think even if we only won six games this year we feel we should be able to sneak into the playoffs,” he continued. “We’ll see, though, there’s a lot of teams with a lot of speed out there, and you never know when the ball is going to roll or bounce the wrong way. Just ask Central.”