Scott Brayton wanted his young Eastside Catholic soccer team to get tested early in the season.

“The goal was to play four really hard matches before we get into Metro, so we’re ready to go,” he said.

An 0-4 record against some of the top KingCo talent certainly provided some bumps and bruises. But, come May, Brayton hopes the early-season lumps will pay off with a league title.

“That’s always the goal, to win Metro,” he said. “A second goal would be to qualify for the (state) tournament.”

The Crusaders, who graduated nine seniors off of last year’s squad, are undoubtedly young. There are four freshman starters, four sophomore starters, two juniors and one senior.

There are just four returning starters from last year’s team — a group that missed the Metro playoffs by one point in the standings.

Leading the returners are junior midfielder Bryce Bacic, sophomore midfielder Joe Mancini, sophomore defender Spencer Spears and sophomore midfielder Dan Omiliak. Senior defender Colin Okerlund saw varsity time last season and will anchor a strong defensive line with Spears and a newcomer, sophomore Colin Floyd.

Sophomore goalkeeper Garrett De Cillia completes a backline that Brayton is extremely confident in.

“That’s our strength right now,” he said.

Senior forwards Danny Chandler and Drew Sutorius also saw varsity time last year.

There are four freshmen expected to impact the roster this season, including midfielder Josh Mackenzie, midfielder Colin Malaska, forward Jacob Gai and midfielder Austin Russell.

While there is still much to be learned about his team, Brayton, who has coached the Crusader boys in five of the last six years, can already say that this year’s team has an asset none of the others have had.

“We’re very fast, this is the fastest team I’ve ever had,” he said. “Now we’ve just got to learn how to use it.”

Eastside Catholic started the Metro season Tuesday with a 2-1 loss to Lakeside. The Crusaders are now 0-1 in league and 0-5 overall.