It wasn’t the start the Newburgh Free Academy girls’ soccer team was looking for.

The Goldbacks opened their season Friday morning, suffering a 1-0 loss to the Saugerties Sawyers at Academy Field in Newburgh.

Newburgh has lost two players – midfielder Emily Giron and defender Angela Holness – off last year’s team that posted an 8-7-1 overall record and was beaten in the Section 9 Class AA quarterfinal by the Warwick Wildcats.

The sectional landscape has changed this season, as the New York State Public High School Athletic Association has increased to six classifications and the Goldbacks will join the newly created Class AAA.

Other Section 9 Class AAA schools are: the Monroe-Woodbury Crusaders, the Kingston Tigers, the Middletown Middies and the Pine Bush Bushmen.

As they begin their quest for a Section 9 championship in a less crowded field, the Goldbacks will return forward Marina Parodo, who entered the season three goals away from 100 career goals.

Newburgh also will return midfielders Julia Leonard and Riley Frederick, forward Damaris Moran and goalkeeper Taryn Judson.

“Basically, the entire team is returning,” Newburgh coach Dave Doulin said.

With an entire team of returners, there are very few newcomers expected to crack the Goldbacks’ starting lineup this year as they look to challenge for the Class AAA championship.

“We know we have plenty of work ahead of us this season,” Doulin said. “The competition is very good, so we need to play our best the entire season. If we play our best soccer at the right time, we have a good chance to be in the mix.”