The field hockey team started off the season with an impressive 5-2 victory over Clarksburg Sept. 5. The win was credited to strong leadership and experience from all five captains and coach Monica Malanoski.  
 CHS hosted Gaithersburg Sept. 22 and defeated the Trojans 6-0. Senior captain Jojo Goldman, freshman Jennifer Shim and junior Sami Soma all scored two goals each.
The team played with each other over the summer in Europe, so they have been able to work hard to prepare for the regular season.
“We want to go far in the playoffs, so we are working on our communication on the field,” senior captain Alex Maio said.
Poolesville came to CHS Sept. 16 and defeated the Bulldogs 2-1. Senior captain Nikki Certner scored the one goal for Bulldogs during the first half.
“They played very hard and kept their momentum through the second half, but there were some bad calls against us in the second half that led to both of their goals,” Malanoski said.
In the second game of the season, the Bulldogs suffered a 4-0 loss at Holy Cross Sept. 9. Even though the final outcome was not very close, the game was tied 0-0 at halftime.
“We played a great first mentum in the second half,” Certner said.  
During the 5-2 victory over Clarksburg, Certner and senior Jourdi Tobias both scored twice while senior Meenu Singh scored the other goal.
“The team did a good job of communicating and passing,” Malanoski said. “They had a little trouble moving the ball and cutting off the ball.”
 During the off-season, the bulldogs went to Europe and played teams from the Netherlands, Germany, Paris and Amsterdam.
“We improved our skills and learned each other’s strengths and weaknesses,” Certner said. “The trip allowed us to learn how to play together as a team.”
 They have been working especially on stick skills and offensive penalty plays as those are some of the team’s weak points and are essential for success.
“Our record does not speak [to] our hard work,” Malanoski said. “Even though in the Holy Cross game there was a let down, we are working on our weaknesses of running and working on cutting on the ball.”