King’s Fork High School boys’ soccer team started off slow this year, but they feel it won’t be long before more wins come.

The Bulldogs are currently 1-5, but the record doesn’t tell the story of the team. The team possesses a hardworking group of guys that are looking to turn around the start of their season. Bulldogs coach Michel Bilé feels good about this team and thinks they are a better team than last year.

Last season ended in the quarterfinals of the Conference 17 tournament. It was a big improvement from a down 2015 season. Now, Bilé wants his team to improve and possibly take another step and finish the 2017 season better than they did 2016.

The strength of the team this year is within the team’s defense. It starts with goalkeeper senior Ty Lakes and with other seniors such as Nicholas Griffin. Bilé also has a couple of juniors in the midfield from whom he gets solid production. One thing the Bulldogs want to improve on, though, is scoring more goals.

“I want us to keep continuing to improve our offense,” Bilé said. “In terms of attacking and scoring chances, we want to get better at that.”

One trait the Bulldogs have that will always keep them in games is hustling. The Bulldogs pride themselves on competing hard each game and not giving up.

“We want to always be a team at all times,” Bilé said. “Even when we are playing hard and things aren’t going our way, we want to remain a team and support each other throughout the game.”

There is a reason for optimism for King’s Fork as the season continues. Last year the team started off strong and cooled down a little towards the end of the season. Bilé is trying to reverse that trend this year and believes the Bulldogs can do it.

“Each season brings new challenges and opportunities,” he said. “I know we will pick it up. Everyone is sticking together, and the kids are working hard to get to where they need to be.”

King’s Fork will take on Grassfield High School on the road at 5:30 p.m. Monday. They will take on Nansemond River High School the following day at home at 5:30 p.m.