Two second-team all-Cascade Conference players from last fall return to lead the Coupeville High School girls soccer team into its new season.

Junior Amanda Montana and sophomore Amanda d’Almeida earned the all-star honors in 2010 and will be joined by five other letter winners: senior Casey Andrews; junior Cassidi Rosenkrance; and sophomores Anna Bailey, Kelsey Miranda and Haley Marx.

Coach Mike Thornton said the highlights of last season were the wins and that the girls improved their “play and understanding of the game.”

This year Thornton expects his club to improve its technical skills and tactical knowledge while “playing and practicing with a purpose.”

He sees his club’s strength as its willingness to “play to the end.” His greatest concern is the “lack of depth of players coming up in the program.”

Thornton sees traditional powers Archbishop Thomas Murphy, Cedarcrest, King’s and Lakewood as the teams to beat this year in the Cascade Conference race.

Coupeville, which finished last season 2-12 in league play and 4-12 overall, starts this year with a home match with Concrete Tuesday, Sept. 7, at 6 p.m.