Leesburg, Va. — The Loudoun County High School field hockey team has its eyes set on redemption. After dropping a heartbreaker in overtime in the region championship in 2021, the Captains have started the season strong in hopes of adding some region hardware to their trophy case.

Loudoun County opened its season with a 6-2 win over state quarterfinalist Freedom before falling in their home opener to state semifinalist Independence, 5-0. The Captains bounced back with a 1-0 win over Woodgrove, before setting their sights on Stone Bridge.

Loudoun County wasted no time getting on the board against Stone Bridge and dominated time of possession in their 4-1 win over the Bulldogs on August 30 in Leesburg.

“When we apply the pressure early, we have great success,” Loudoun County head coach Maggie Darby said. “It’s a team effort, so everybody needs to be pushing forward.”

It took the Captains less than three minutes to strike as junior midfielder Ava Pietrzak connected on a pass from sophomore forward Molly Graham to give the blue and gold a 1-0 lead.

Exactly six minutes later, Loudoun County senior forward Lorelei Murphy collected a rebound off the pads of the Stone Bridge keeper and took a swing which hit the back wall to extend the Captains lead to 2-0.

Stone Bridge had a chance to cut the lead in half early in the second quarter after a stroke was awarded, but the Bulldogs’ attempt missed wide to the right.

Already with a 2-0 lead, Loudoun County senior captain Olivia DeWan wasn’t satisfied as she took a chance from just inside the scoring circle late in the first half and scored to increase the Captains lead to 3-0.

“Our main focus the past few games has been communicating and staying wide, so we can spread the field and open up the passing lane,” DeWan said. “We did that really well tonight, and everyone contributed.”

Even then, DeWan wasn’t ready to take her foot off the gas as she corralled a pass from Graham midway through the fourth quarter and once again found the back of the goal to put the game out of reach for the Bulldogs.

“Communication is key and that’s helped the girls play really well together,” Darby said. “As long as we communicate, spread the field, and play our game, we’re going to be alright.”

The Bulldogs did eventually get on the board when freshman midfielder Keaten Calic scored late in the fourth quarter, but that goal proved to be inconsequential as the Captains topped the Bulldogs, 4-1.

“Stone Bridge is a good team,” DeWan said. “They’re a bit more aggressive than the teams we played previously, so we had to focus on keeping our composure.”

If the Captains (0-0, 3-1) want to add a region companion next to their 2021 Dulles District trophy, they’re going to need to communicate, apply early pressure, and keep up the intensity they’ve shown early in 2022.

“The ultimate goal is the region title,” DeWan said. “We were runners up last year, and I want to hang that banner on our wall this year.”

Derrick Jerry captured 75+ photos at the game!

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