Peter Gardner was the only coach in the history of Brunswick High School boys soccer program.

After Gardner retired from both his vice principal and soccer positions, the high school replaced him from within.

First-year coach Mark Roma, a teacher at BHS, moves from his assistant coaching position at Bowdoin College to take over for Gardner, and so far, the transition has gone well.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better transition, from the parents, to the boosters to Peter himself,” said Roma, who recalled a recent phone conversation with Gardner. “Peter has gone out of his way to stay away, but I told him that I don’t want him to stay away. Over the past two years, I would stop into his office at Brunswick High School and discuss soccer, from formations, to player’s characters. That will be the hardest thing to adjust to, not seeing him in his office and having those Monday and Tuesday soccer conversations.”

Roma’s Dragons kicked things off the past two weeks with a pair of tournaments, hosting several schools in shortened games in preparation for the season.

“Our goal was to give everyone trying out for this team a fair look, so everyone played in those games,” said Roma, whose squad opens the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference season on Friday at home against Oxford Hills (3:30 p.m.).

Seniors Jimmy Kenyon (Captain, defense), Paul Kousky (midfield), Brandon Gerber (D), Konnor Scarponi (Capt., all over), Greg Walton (Capt., GK) and Patrick Kinnee (D) return, along with juniors Ryan Black (Capt., F), Ryan Brescia (GK), Blake Gordon (S/MF) and Collin Shea (D).

Newcomers are juniors Ian Burgess (MF), Adam Finik (F), Phillip LeBlanc (D), and sophomores Jesse Arford (all over), Cam Glover (F), Eric Kousky (D) and Parker Wild (D).

Roma feels his teams need to get stronger on defense to have success this season.

“We’re strong up the middle, from the goaltender out, and our senior leadership is where it should be, but we have to get stronger on the outside, especially in the defensive end,” said Roma, whose squad visits Mt. Ararat on Sept. 7 and hosts top KVAC contenders Lewiston (Sept. 13) and Bangor (Sept. 21).

Girls soccer

Coach Martyn Davison comes into the season with what he calls a “flexible unit.”

Considering, the 13-1 Dragons lost three defenders and their starting goaltender to graduation, Davison realizes he has some holes to fill.

“We have a couple players back who played defense off and on last season (Rachel Moroney, Lyse Henshaw), and even though we are rebuilding the defense, we have players who can play there well,” said Davison, whose team fell in the Eastern A final, 2-0, to top-seeded and Class A champion Bangor. “We lost Dakota Foster (prep school) and her teamleading 26 goals as well, but we have everyone else from the front-line back, including Anna (Cowan), who scored 11 goals last season.”

Returning seniors for Davison are Moroney (forward/defense), Allison Hill (midfield), Paige Tetu (MF), Jenna Libby (MF/D), Libby Arford (MF/D), Lauren Carlton (MF/D) and Hannah Kressbach (D), while juniors back in the fold are twins Anna (F/MF) and Madeline Cowan (MF), Henshaw (F/D), Caley Nicholson (MF) and Haley Murano, the latter of whom looks to be the starting goaltender after playing striker last year.

Sophomores Kassidy Scarponi (S/MF) and Julia Champagne (F/MF) also return, while newcomer Julia Carpenter (junior, D) fills up the 15- player roster.

“Coming into the season, our first order of business will be to make sure the defense is on form, something we are working hard on in the preseason,” said Davison.

The challenge early will be pair of road games at Oxford Hills (Saturday) and Erskine Academy (Tuesday) before the Dragons return home against rival Mt. Ararat on Sept. 8.

“Mt. Ararat was very impressive during the summer, so they will be tough as always, while we have a tough one at Bangor (Sept. 21), which should be a challenge,” said Davison.

Football

The Dragons finished 7-2 in 2011, earning the No. 3 seed in Eastern A. They lost to Bangor, 42-14, in Eastern A semifinals.

“We are excited about our preseason and confident our team will be in the thick of the playoff hunt come season’s end,” said head coach Dan Cooper. “The nine seniors I have are all stepping up, and the pieces seem to be coming together nicely.

“With our preseason games with Deering and Lawrence, we knew it would be a good measuring stick to see how competitive we could be this season, and we are thrilled with how the kids played and competed in both. If we can stay healthy, this team will have the potential to make and compete fiercely in the playoffs.

“Our schedule is the same as far as who we play. It’s never easy playing Bangor or Lawrence, so it doesn’t matter to us if it’s week one or eight. Our kids travel well and enjoy the added pressure of winning on the road. Just bring apples and feed the hogs and they are good to go.

“For us to compete we have got to be tough up front. If those lineman are ‘getting after it’ and keeping their pad level low then we will be okay. Depth will be an issue for us with only nine seniors, so those kids will have to stay healthy and not get fatigued. We will also need some sophomores and juniors to step up and play at a high level, and there is no reason that should not happen.

“Our kids have always been able to rise to the occasion when given the opportunity. Losing all those starters from last year’s team, and seeing (Jordan) Rysdham move to San Diego, certainly brought some tears to my eyes. They’ll certainly be some growing pains during the season as kids find their way and get comfortable in their role, but we feel they’ll get there.”

Key seniors include Jared Jensen (RB/DB, Second Team All-Pine Tree Conference), Jason Carter (QB), Brett Lancaster (OT) and Nolan Robbins (OT), while the junior class features Adam Casey (DT) and Josh Thibeault (DT).

Newcomers include seniors Steve Faith (DB), Kaleija Inniss (WR/DB), Colby Dwyer (C/DT), juniors Nick Dodson (LB/G), Ryan Maciejewski (RB/LB), Lucas McCue (RB/LB), Nick Mrvichin (DT/G), Brady Larson (QB/DB), Zack Raubeson (RB/LB), Cody Buchheit (DE/RB) and sophomore Alex Bandouveres (DT/RB).,

Brunswick opens Friday at Bangor (7 p.m.), and key dates include Sept. 7 (H, Skowhegan, home opener), Sept. 14 (at Lewiston), Oct. 19 (H, Lawrence) and Oct. 26 (H, Mt. Ararat).

Field hockey

It all came down to rivals Brunswick and Mt. Ararat last season to determine which squad made the Eastern Maine Class A playoffs.

Rebecca Costa’s Dragons found the magic, scoring a 1-0 victory, and Brunswick played top-seeded Skowhegan in the quarterfinals and played tough in a 6-0 loss.

Costa lost seven seniors and has worked diligently to fill those positions in the preseason, with the Dragons slated to host Messalonskee Thursday in the KVAC opener (4 p.m.).

“The girls worked hard during the summer field hockey season, and it has paid off for them during the preseason,” said Costa, whose squad finished 4-9-1 in 2011. “A few girls have taken on the challenge of moving positions. Our 11 freshmen have worked hard and continue to challenge themselves.”

Senior Olivia LeRoy will anchor the Brunswick defense, along with classmate Taylor Godbout and junior Samm Clark. In goal, Sydney Escoe, a Second Team All- KVAC selection last year, returns and will be backed up by freshman Jordan Van Savage.

In the midfield, Costa will go with senior Michelle Ingram, junior Caroline Rivard (moving from forward) and freshman Ellie Linenert, while the frontline looks to be made up by seniors Ariel Bouchard and Hannah Bobker, and juniors Lillian Kjellman and Grace Rabinowitz.

“The versatility of these players to adjust in playing other positions is a strength of this team, and their hardwork, dedication and communication has been solid,” said Costa, who expects the usual suspects — Skowhegan, Messalonskee and Cony — to be tough. “A key for us will be to stay healthy this season.”

Golf

Mal Strange was surprised at his team’s success in 2011.

“I thought we would be around .500, but the kids worked hard and ended up coming within matching scorecards of winning the KVAC,” said Strange, whose squad opened at rival Morse Tuesday at Bath Country Club.

Strange lost top player Alex Viola to graduation, but returns senior Brad Smith, who recently finished 11th in the New England Junior Amateur Championship.

“Brad is our top player, and has the confidence and the love of the game to continue to do well,” said Strange.

Senior Tommy Favreau will battle for a varsity spot, along with senior newcomer Nate Reny. Junior Derek Devereaux appears to have locked up the No. 2 spot, while classmates Cam Heatley, Andrew Auclair and Nick Zinni work to get a top six spot.

Sophomores John Parker and Henry Martinson return, along with freshman Ben Lord (“Ben certainly has potential,” said Strange).

The KVAC has moved into three divisions (North, Central and South), with the Dragons in the south.

“Oxford Hills and Lewiston are two very good teams in our division, while in the state, I expect the team that won the KVAC last year, Bangor, to be right there,” said Strange. “I think we may surprise people again this year. We’ve had great success through the years, but it comes down to how hard the kids worked during the summer to prepare for the high school season. Those are the teams that find success.”

Cross country

“We’re young, both in the boys and the girls,” said coach Dave DeLois of his cross country teams.

The Dragon girls surprised their coach last year, coming away with the KVAC title by one point over the rival Mt. Ararat Eagles.

“It is not often that it comes down to the sixth runner, but it was really exciting to see,” said DeLois.

Among the girls, DeLois feels his top runner may be freshman Tiffany Tanner, along with returners Teresa Murphy (junior), Amy Lyons (junior) and freshman Tessa Cassidy.

“The girls, if they improve and get stronger as we move forward, could challenge in the KVAC,” said DeLois.

Seniors Bridget Horan, Hannah Judd, Jessica Russell, juniors Savanna Kay, Lily Sanders, Anna Turner, Vivian Tracy, Shannon Viola, Frances Wright and sophomore Brooke Escoe return, with newcomers junior Brooke Trimmer and freshmen Molly Blaisdell, Cleo Carrera, Lily Hood and Lynsie Russell looking to improve their early season times.

The boys are paced by top runner and senior Jamie Ross, who DeLois expects to contend for the top spot in most meets.

Sophomore Chris Tanner, senior Alex Nichols, junior Zach Miller and sophomore John Murphy give DeLois a strong top five, with senior Nathaniel Vilas, juniors Walter Martin and Donovan Shea, and sophomore Ben Flanagan, Andrew Bobker, Jacob Hunter and McKinley Stinson returning.

Newcomers are sophomore Andrew Kew, and freshmen Elias Henze and Jason Higginbotham.

Brunswick opened last Friday at the Laliberte Invitational at Cony High School.

“It was a short run, 2.4- miles for varsity, so it was a good first test for the runners to see where they are,” said DeLois.