FRUITPORT – There are a bunch of Fruitport soccer players with varsity experience who are itching to hit the field.

Under ordinary circumstances they would have more game experience at this point in their varsity careers, but their minutes were limited last season, due to the presence of a solid core of 12 seniors who got the bulk of the playing time.

Now those seniors are gone, the new group is ready to take the field, and Fruitport coach Dan Hazekamp expects the skill level to remain high.

The Trojans will open the season on Wednesday with a non-conference game at Mona Shores.

“We kept 24 players on the roster last year, which was pretty outrageous, but we knew we were going to graduate a lot of players and the hope was to get some younger guys some varsity experience and bridge the gap,” Hazecamp said. “So we’re bringing back 12 players with some really good guys in the mix. We have five starters back.

“We have a lot of guys who played club soccer and have been putting in a lot of work this summer. I think we’re going to be better than some people anticipate.”

The top returner may be senior Brady Brown, who was an All-State selection at a defensive position during his sophomore and junior seasons.

Brown, who has drawn some college interest, will probably be moved to the offensive end of the field this season to take advantage of his natural skills and provide the Trojans with extra firepower.

“We have aspirations for him,” Hazekamp said. “He’s a huge piece of the puzzle for us. The last couple of years he was the center back on defense, but we’re experimenting with him now, because he’s probably one of our strongest players at any position. This year we may push him forward to try to use some of his offensive firepower, probably in the middle of the field.

“Even playing defense last year, he was able to find the net a few times. He had four goals and an assist. He scored a big goal against Unity Christian in the conference tournament semifinals. He’s a really well-rounded player who will do a lot of positive things for us.”

Two other key players on the offensive end with be senior Ryan Mitchell and talented sophomore Jorge Burgos-Yack.

Mitchell was on the bench at the start of last season but was starting by the time districts rolled around. He’s a very fast player who figures to play a big role in the Trojans’ attack this fall.

“He’s been incredibly invested (in improving) during the offseason,” Hazekamp said. “He’s a speedster out wide. I think he’s going to have a really good impact on the offensive third. He found the back of the net in a scrimmage already. Last year he was more of a grinder and distributor, but that role will increase as he gains minutes and confidence.”

Burgos-Yack, who also made the starting lineup toward the end of last season, ended up with two goals and 10 assists and was honorable mention All-Conference as a freshman. He’s not very tall but has the moves to score his share of goals, according to the coach.

“We’re excited about what he does,” Hazekamp said. “He’s going to be a big part of running the show in the middle. He will be up on the offensive attack.”

Also returning to the starting lineup with be senior Braylon Marshall, who started at center-midfield last season and should be a strong presence at that position this fall.

“He has a really high soccer IQ, he’s a really smart player,” Hazekamp said about Marshall. “He will be a very big piece in the middle of the field.”

Senior Elijah Aldridge will help anchor the back defensive line.

“He’s one of our most versatile players,” Hazekamp said.

The Trojans will break in a new starting goalie, but they aren’t worried about that at all.

Junior Logan Werschem started last season as the backup goalie before being injured early in the campaign. He has worked hard to prepare for his new role, and Hazekamp thinks he’s going to be very good.

“He has been very, very committed to growing into the role, on and off the field,” the coach said. “He has spent a lot of time in the weight room and has looked really impressive this summer. He’s going to turn a lot of heads. He probably would have played earlier, but he was behind a four-year starter.”

There are numerous other players who will have important roles this season, as well, including senior Taylen Acocks and juniors Sam Krueger, Isaac Vandermolen, Isaiah Packard and Elliot Effken.

Hazekamp likes the talent level and chemistry on his team, but knows, with a lot of new starters, that it may take a little time for the Trojans to fully gel.

“We’re going to have tremendous team speed,” he said. “We have a lot of guys who can really run. Another thing I like is the mentality of our group. They have a real sense of unselfishness and hunger, which is sometimes hard to engrain in teenage boys. This group seems to embody those qualities.

“We are going to be breaking in a lot of guys early on. We will be going through an acclimation period. We need to make sure we are ready to roll. The goal, of course, is always to be playing our best soccer in October. We will be playing a tough non-conference schedule by design so we can be more battle-tested when we get to games in our incredibly tough conference.”

In case anyone is wondering, the Trojans intend to keep playing most of their games at their traditional turf field, named after the late Fruitport athletic director Ken Erny.

The football stadium has a new turf surface that was installed last fall, but that gets a lot of use and is not always available for practices and games, he said.

“We’re going to try to play there a bit,” said Hazekamp, whose team played two games on the turf last year. “One of my concerns is, if we practiced on turf then play on grass, I don’t know if that would suit our style of play.

“We dedicated our field to Ken Erny two years ago, and we take tremendous pride in playing on that field. It means a lot to us.”