When last seen, the Goffstown boys soccer team was walking off the Manchester West field after surrendering a two-goal lead and falling in overtime.

Roughly 10 months after that playoff heartbreaker, the Grizzlies were back at it, winning their season opener, 4-1, against Timberlane on Tuesday, June 2.

Coach Randy Lovering said his squad has the ability to not only finish above .500 and host a tournament game, but to make a deep postseason run.

After all, the Grizzlies were only a bounce away from the Class L quarterfinals last season, and they return nine starters this year.

But before anyone gets their expectations too high, Lovering said his players – namely his 13 seniors – must gel.

“I was kidding with a couple people who were saying, ‘With 13 seniors on your team you better win a state championship or you’re going to get fired,’” he said. “Obviously our expectations are high, but we’re dealing with a few little chemistry problems on this team.

“We won, 4-1, but I don’t think we played that well today. There’s a lot of room to improve,” Lovering continued. “I think part of it is the 13 seniors. They’ve been around and they kind of know … but it’s almost like they know too much.”

Still, the third-year coach said the experience is there, and it showed against Timberlane. Ian Downing scored twice in the contest, the first on a Josh Lafond assist three minutes into the game and then on a Tyler Ellis helper in the 67th minute.

Ellis found the back of the net on a penalty kick in the seventh minute, and sophomore Tyler Sharby, playing in his first varsity game, notched his first varsity goal. Junior goalie John Carbonneau made a handful of solid saves.

Despite the performance, however, Lovering said Carbonneau continues to compete with freshman keeper Dylan Bisceglia for playing time. “They both know the pressure is on,” he said. “It just comes down to who is going to play better for us.”

The team is captained by Lafond, Ellis, Downing and Jimmy Assad.

“They were all here when I took over the job three years ago, and I kept them as sophomores, so they’ve been with me the longest,” said Lovering.

Others taking the field for the Grizzlies this season include John Reilly, Liam House- Myers, Connor Western, Jeff Nowell, Martin Bouroncle, Jon Carlisle, Jake Davis, Martin Broly, Kirby Holmes, Erik Fedderson, Rene Roedgaard and Alec Stephens.