The Pilgrim boys soccer team had a historic campaign last season, winning its first state championship since the 2000 season.

Although the Pats were considered to be a playoff contender last year, they would catch fire down the stretch and pull off the upset, championship win over St. Ray’s.

However, things are different as Pilgrim gets set for 2019, as it is now the team to beat in Division III.

“You’ve got to beat everyone. Bottom line is that you can’t take anyone for granted and you have to play every game as it comes, the old cliché. I won’t let them get complacent and will make sure that they’re working hard every day,” said Pilgrim coach Bill Carroll. “They know that, they know that there are teams out there that can beat us. We just need to work our tails off to make sure that they don’t.”

The Pats will also have an experienced bunch this year as it returns eight seniors from its state championship team. Carroll hopes to see his club strike the right balance of confidence and desire to win.

“The returning kids have confidence from last season, but it’s a new season. I’m not even talking about repeating. We’ll be up there, we’ll stand a chance at taking it, and I’ve made it well-known to them that they have a chance. Confidence combined with hard work is key,” said Carroll.

One of the returning seniors is Dan Peixinho, who led the team and the state with 28 goals last season, including the game-winner against St. Ray’s.

Carroll expects Peixinho to have a big impact once again, despite the fact that he will likely be on the opposition’s radar more so than ever.

“Dan had a big year last year so he’ll have a lot of people watching this year. It’ll be tougher for him now since he flew under the radar at times last year. He’s very valuable since he’ll be occupying two people and allowing us to get into the backfield. We’ve got enough people to score goals, we just need to make sure that we can stop goals,” said Carroll.

Before making any definite predictions for the season’s outlook, Carroll and company are hoping to finish the preseason strong during today’s injury fund tournament, and to put together the best possible roster in time for the season opener.

“It’s hard to tell since everyone is trying out still, but usually you find out pretty quick how your team is once the final lineup is settled,” said Carroll. “The round robin (today) will help, and then we’ll get into the games. We’ll see how it goes.”