Both off the field and on, last year’s Hazen girls soccer team knew heartache better than most.

On the field, the team lost to Kelso on a goal with 49 seconds left in the bi-district tournament, just one game short of state.

“As a program, it was a sour note on a pretty darn good year,” said Hazen coach Ken Matthews. “Everybody was pretty well ready to get started this year.”

Off the field, the team lost Hazen custodian and long-time superfan Joe Dahl and Lora Michaud, long-time supporter and mother of a Hazen player, during the season. Now with an offseason to process it, Matthews said it will only make the team better.

“It’s still on the forefront of our brains, but it’s there in a positive way because of what it did for us,” he said. “It’s just a part of us now.”

The key on the field this year will be attacking mid Dee Dee Green. Green has committed to play defender for the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville next year, but Matthews needed her presence in the middle to fit this year’s Hazen squad. Her willingness to move set the tone for the rest of the team.

“We’ve moved some good soccer players around in positions they haven’t played before,” he said. “And that’s our biggest question mark right now.”

Matthews said Green not only helps the team with her talent but her mentality as well.

“She’s a very good soccer player, but what she brings to our team is kind of that warrior mentality,” Matthews said. “Sometimes it’s very difficult to find high school teams with that and she brings it for us.”

Cameron Devereux will replace all-state goalkeeper Priscilla Yu.

“She’s paid her dues, she pushed Priscilla so hard last year,” Matthews said. “I’ve always had a lot of confidence in her and the girls really have a lot of confidence in her too.”

Yu, Sarah Schoville and Marina Vaughn highlight a talented group of graduating seniors, but Matthews is confident in the returning players.

On defense, all-league juniors Gabby Brower and Courtney Kiteley are back. All-league juniors Brianne Sherin and Chelsea Delgado also return to help lead the offense. Sherin led the league in goals last year. Hazen also has two all-league juniors back in the midfield, in Cindy Hanson and Melissa Carney.

Three freshmen made the team, forward Erin Zetterberg, midfielder Nicole Anderson and defender Madi Kaiser.

The team will get tested early and often. Hazen faced Auburn Mountainview Thursday night, then Fife, Kennedy (twice) and Eastside Catholic, all are ranked among the top 10 in their respective classifications.

“We’re going to find out really quickly how good we are compared to where we need to be to get to state,” Matthews said.