The girls soccer team at Dartmouth High School started off the season with some unfortunate injuries — at different times, Lindsey Klein, Ava Oliviera, Ava Fernandes and Aubrey DeSouza all took games off. At the same time, that bad luck has meant that the team’s second string players are stronger than ever. 

“The bench really stepped up, as they should,” said head coach Scot Boudria. “When you’re playing that bench, you start trusting them a little bit more than you normally would.”

On top of a “pretty deep” lineup, the team is full of multi-year, experienced players — only two sophomores play for the varsity team, and “about seven” of the team’s seniors are in their third season, Boudria said. 

At a record of nine wins, five losses and one tie, that experience is on clear display. Besides the 5-0 loss to Apponequet High School (which Boudria called a “good whooping”), Dartmouth has not lost a game by more than one point, and has not let any other opponent score more than two. 

Even those losses, though, are a learning experience for the team. 

“I really don’t care about the scores all that much, your team can get better from some losses than a lot of wins,” Boudria said.

Players were upset after the team’s second game against Durfee, who they tied 1-1.

“I told them … did we get a lot out of what we did today compared to where we were yesterday?  I think we have,” Boudria said. “I think we came out strong, I think we played really hard, I think we dominated the game most of the time.”

While Boudria shouted out some specific players, including the team’s “loaded” defense with Kat Cheeseboro, Hailey Martins, Katie Caniff and Lauren Kiser, he said the team doesn’t really rely on “superstars.”

“It’s a connective group: It’s sort of like a fist, you know, each finger is not particularly strong, but when you put them together, it's very strong,” Boudria said. 

Izzy Seguin and Sarah Kelly are two of the team’s strong goal scorers, and Jade Winters and Remy Barber control the middle of the field, Boudria said. 

Players are frequently subbing out though: On average, Boudria said he fields 19 players, and sometimes the whole team. He hopes that with a stronger bench, the team can stay stronger further into the playoffs. 

“That’s always the theory,” Boudria said. “I’ve been in Dartmouth for 30 years coaching soccer, I’ve seen a lot of stuff go with a lot of different teams. On really good teams that go really deep in the tournament, they have a bench.”

In the last two playoff runs, Dartmouth has lost to Masconomet Regional High School — and was shutout 4-0 both times. Boudria would like to push through to the third round this year, and hopes some defensive changes will help in that game. 

“[We need to] take it one game at a time,” Boudria said. “I think we’re a talented team. With a little bit of luck and if we execute, we’ll be good and I think we’ll be able to challenge any team that’s out there.”

Off the field, Boudria tries to “teach the kids more than just soccer,” which includes a yearly trip to nonprofit Gifts to Give in Acushnet.

“When you leave here, they’re gonna remember who you are, not so much what you did on the field,” Boudria said. “We try to have a culture on our team… you have to want to work together to achieve, hopefully what’s everyone's goals.”

Dartmouth next plays Greater New Bedford Vocational Technical High School on Wednesday, Oct. 25 at 5 p.m. at Dartmouth Memorial Stadium.