School’s back in session, and we all know what that means. Fall sports are back in action and Sammies Soccer is no exception. New captains goalie Connor Mulderig, striker Ben Venuti, and midfield Justin Cao have high expectations as the team looks to build on a trip to the state semi-finals last year.

The boys opened their season on Tuesday with a 0-0 tie against Shrewsbury. A stellar performance from team captain Connor Mulderig kept Sutton afloat as the offense struggled to get going. Mulderig’s performance is a likely sign of what’s to come from the senior keeper, as his hopes are high for this season.

When asked how he feels going forward, Connor said, “I’m hoping I can get All-State, hoping to play at the next level in [Division 1] college… for the team we want to win everything… we want to win States, we want to win Central Districts, and maybe keep an undefeated season, who knows?” Connor also had high praise for their opponents in Shrewsbury, “They’re a really, really good team. Really good players over there.”

The baseball team recently inspired Sammies Soccer to create an Instagram page by the same name (@sammies_soccer). It’s done a terrific job bringing the team together, and it’s brought recognition to the team. In just 3 months they’ve gained over 160 followers and are pulling in up to 100 likes per post. Account founders and fellow captains Ben Venuti and Justin Cao are excited about the progress they’ve made for Sutton Sports’ internet presence.

I asked Ben about the social media’s impact on the team and its fans. “We think it’s helped team chemistry a lot. We all really enjoy the page, we love making posts together, we like posing, we like recording videos and it’s a lot of fun to make content. It’s really helped us get together as a team and find something that we all enjoy.” He also hopes the page will help put Sammies fans in seats, “It’s drawn a lot of attention to our upcoming games and our season as we’ve reached audiences from parents and students across Sutton.”

In spite of all the progress made in chemistry and talent throughout the team this year, you can’t forget the talent lost in the ’22 seniors. Justin Cao spoke to me about the impact of losing them as well as the impact they made on the team by helping out this summer. “We definitely appreciate the ‘22 seniors for all they did getting together often over the summer for all the summer workouts, you know, we got together and knew what we wanted to do, and everyone got their handle on stuff.”

Being a team captain is no small feat on the five time state champion Sammies Soccer team, and the honor is not lost on Ben and Justin. “Everyone looks up to us” said Justin Cao. Ben reflected on the captains of Sammies past and the status and expectations that come with the title, “I think it’s pretty cool because, you know,  we always watched the games as children. We saw our guy, Ryan Elster, Captain, you know looked up to my guy, and now we’re in his shoes, so it’s kinda cool to lead the team, and hopefully lead us to championships”

After another 0-0 tie against BVT on Friday, the offense looks to put it together in time for their next game. Having seen this team in person, I’m filled with confidence and hope for the season. The potential is through the roof and once things get going, this could be a special season for the Sammies.