After losing a huge chunk of seniors from last year’s team, the Shoreham-Wading River Wildcats will turn to a new group of young players, many of whom have grown up playing soccer together.

“There’s a lot of kids who played club ball, grew up all playing since they were 5 years old together,” Shoreham Coach Andrew Moschetti said. “They know where they are on the field without having to even look.”

The Wildcats reached the playoffs in Class A last year as the No. 7 seed and lost to Elwood/John Glenn. They opened the season with a pair of non-league games, winning by 5-1 Saturday against Eastport-South Manor and falling, 5-2, at Kings Park on Monday.

Leading the team this year are senior captains Toni Domingues and Nick Araujo. Domingues plays in the midfield and Araujo is a defender.

Both players already have a goal on the season.

Charles DeMaio scored a pair of goals in the Wildcats’ win against Eastport. Greg Canellys scored a goal in both games so far as well.

Senior Joe Cahill, a newcomer to the varsity level, has started in goal for the Wildcats. Short on goalies going into the summer, the Wildcats got Cahill, a hockey goalie, to come out for the team. Moschetti said Cahill continually improved during the summer from one game to the next.

While the Wildcats have consistently made the playoffs, they’ve struggled getting past the first round. Moschetti said that’s the goal coming into this season, to advance beyond the first round. The team will face plenty of strong competition in League VI playing against Glenn, East Hampton and Westhampton Beach.

“Our senior captains have shown great leadership throughout the preseason and we are excited for league play to start,” Moschetti said.

Shoreham opens on the road Monday where its season ended last year — at John Glenn.