Catherine Chow (front) and Riley Colleran (rear) are key returning players for the HHS girls soccer team this season. FILE PHOTO/JOHN CARDILLO

The 2026 Hopkinton High School girls soccer team has a mix of returning players and newcomers, and coach Dan Collins is focused on getting his players to gel while making sure that all of them are key contributors to the overall success.

“I say this all the time, it’s a long season, but it’s such a short window of time and opportunity for teams to figure things out,” Collins said. “It’s about getting into a groove and getting to know each other.”

The coach stressed that all 21 players on his roster contribute, and depth is something that the Hillers plan to make a strength all fall.

“We try not to rely on 10 or 11 girls, every day is a grind, and you don’t know what your team is going to look like day-to-day or with injuries,” he said. “So we try to develop a deep bench and a roster to emphasize that if someone’s out, it’s the next player up.”

Hopkinton has several key cogs who Collins expects to play big roles this fall. Junior midfielder Riley Colleran returns along with classmate Natalie Prisco on defense. A pair of sophomores, Lilly Clarke and Anna Minogue, also have shown tremendous promise, Collins said.

Colleran and Prisco are serving as captains this year alongside senior Sophia Tzouganatos and junior Catherine Chow.

Youth is another hallmark of the 2026 Hillers, with six sophomores and three freshmen on the roster. Age is not important for Collins when it comes to figuring out who will be on the field.

“One thing we try to emphasize is that if you’re good enough, you’re old enough,” he said. “I consider everyone on the team to be leaders. We have a set of standards that we all try to live by, and I hold my seniors to the same standards as the three freshmen on the team, and I expect the same effort out of the three freshmen as I do the seniors.”

For Collins, the focus always is on the process, and the goal is to stick to that process throughout the season instead of focusing on outcome goals like winning the Tri-Valley League or making it to the state semifinals.

“That’s all well and good, but sometimes teams miss out on focusing on the steps they have to take to get there,” Collins said. “We do our best to turn the page every day. If we fall short one day, we try not to do it two days in a row. … I guess that is our goal.”