The Coupeville High School soccer team is coming off its best season ever. To repeat that success, the Wolves will need to get a boost from a new crop of players.

Only four letter winners return from last year’s team which reached the playoffs after finishing second in the Olympic League with a 3-3 record and 6-7 overall.

The lone returning senior, Jennifer Spark, will give Coupeville both a lift in talent and, well, a spark in inspiration.

Spark, the team captain, suffered a devastating knee injury early last fall and now has returned after “reconstructive surgery and months of rehabilitation and painstaking physical therapy,” according to coach Troy Cowan.

Also back is last year’s Rookie of the Year, Mia Littlejohn, who will play multiple positions, Cowan said, and junior Bree Daigneault and sophomore Sage Renninger.

Cowan lauded Daigneault’s growth in both talent and leadership: “She transformed herself into something special.”

Renninger will help lead the offense, Cowan said, with “lightning” in her feet.

Among the top newcomers, according to Cowan, are freshmen Kalia Littlejohn, Mia’s sister, and Lindsey Roberts. Both will make “a major impact on the Olympic Conference,” according to Cowan.

“Our goals are simple,” Cowan said. “Improve each and every half, give 100 percent effort and never, ever quit. We are going to focus on what we can control and manage what we can’t.”

He said the team’s youth is both its greatest strength and greatest weakness. The youngsters “bring high energy” but “lack experience on the pitch.”

Coupeville will begin the season at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 3, at the Island Jamboree in Oak Harbor along with South Whidbey.

The Wolves go to Mount Vernon Christian at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 8, for the first of four straight away matches. The first home match is 4:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25, with Orcas Island.