The 2026 girls' soccer season at Warrenton is going to be measured in the simplest of terms.

While the Warriors, a team that won three games last season, would love to improve that mark, the fact that the program is just 16 players deep will go a long way to temper expectations.

Senior central midfielder Emma Duncan said it wouldn’t make sense to measure the sheer number of players on the roster, but rather the heart and grit of those who will wear the uniform this season.

“We do have (fewer) numbers this season, but it’s easy to tell that every girl who is here really wants to be here,” Duncan said. “These girls all want to win. We may not have the quantity, but we certainly have the quality.”

Of the returning players this season, sophomore Emory Martinez (two goals), brings with her the highest goal total for a returning player.

Warrenton coach Courtney Nenninger said that, while it’s nice to have seven or eight players who saw time as starters last season, the team will have to work hard to be well-conditioned with only five total substitutes.

“In any normal year, where our numbers were better, they (the expectations) would be, also,” Nenninger said. “Our goal is to develop our less-experienced players, so they can be some of the ones we can count on. Our defense will be solid. That’s where we return most of our players, on defense and in center (midfield).

“We have a girl, whom I have all the confidence that she can put the ball into the net,” added Nenninger. “That’s Emory. We’re just going to have to work hard to be able to get her the ball.”

Nenninger added that on-field team leadership will come from Duncan, as well as from the team's other captains, senior center back Autumn Heard and Alyssa Adams.

“These girls are all vocal leaders and are super-competitive,” Nenninger said. “They’re girls you can look to on the field. They’re the ones who will pump us up and give us that fire during games.”

For her part, Heard said she knows most of the Warriors' successes this season will start from the back.

“Having that (defensive structure) is a priority,” Heard said. “I feel like I can teach others to be the same as me. I am a senior, so I’m working hard, as a leader, to help teach the younger girls as much as I can.”

Warrenton will look to begin its march to growth at 5 p.m. on March 23, when the Warriors open the season by hosting Veritas Christian.

Duncan said that the team's main goal is to prove to itself, collectively, that things continue to move in the right direction.

“We might not have the stats to show (outsiders) that we’re improving,” she said. “Of course, we want to get to four wins, at least. Or even getting to three would be great. But as long as we keep moving forward and competing, then we’re achieving our goals.”