It’s been a slow building process for the Cranston East field hockey team, and the payoff came on Friday afternoon at Cranston Stadium.

The ’Bolts got a win.

After being shut-out in their first seven games of the season, they finally scored a goal and picked up a tie against Rocky Hill on Sept. 29. They stayed close and scored two more goals over their next three games, until Friday’s breakout. Brittney Bidwell scored two goals, and East dominated on its way to a 4-1 victory over Toll Gate.

It was the first multi-goal game of the season for the ’Bolts, who had three total goals coming in. Friday was just a showcase of a young, inexperienced team’s progress from day one to now.

“When you’re losing and things aren’t going your way, staying with it is not the easiest thing,” said East head coach Jim Creamer. “And they have. It’s been great.”

East improved to 1-10-1 in Division II-North. Toll Gate – which has had a very comparable season to East – fell to 0-12 in D-II-South.

“They played well,” said Toll Gate head coach Leila Connolly. “They just can’t put it together to work to their potential. We have some talented players and we just can’t seem to finish.”

The ’Bolts could really see the tide turning in their favor the last few games. Following the tie with Rocky Hill, they lost just 3-0 to first-place Warwick Vets, lost 4-1 to South Kingstown and then 5-1 to Tiverton.

The scores might not have been perfect, but Creamer thought it was night and day from the early part of the season.

“It’s been a long season, but to the kids’ credit, they’ve stayed with it,” Creamer said. “We’ve actually played pretty well.”

In the opening minute against Toll Gate, East served notice that it was angling for a notch in the win column.

Bidwell corralled a pass across the crease from Vivien Yau just 37 seconds into the game and she buried the shot, putting the ’Bolts up 1-0 immediately.

It was East’s first lead of any kind this season.

“We got good opportunities, and the kids are working so hard,” Creamer said. “We’ve been playing so much defense, that it was good to get a little offense.”

The ’Bolts must have liked the feeling, because they kept on the offensive, getting a second goal with just over five minutes to play in the half from Brittany Rice, with Isabella LeClair picking up the assist.

Amelia Lavallee added a goal early in the second half and two minutes after she scored, Bidwell tallied her second of the game to make it 4-0.

The Titans held some possession and threatened a few times, but rarely gave East much of a challenge. The ’Bolts goalkeeper, Shoshana Adler, made four saves.

“Our goaltender has been spectacular all year,” Creamer said. Toll Gate’s goal came off the stick of Kelsey Holmes, who belted the ball from the right side after a rebound with just over five minutes left in the game.

That goal was too little, too late, though, as East played until the final whistle and then celebrated a win that felt hard earned in a difficult season.

“We scored two goals and we’ve had those same chances all year,” Creamer said. “We’ve never been able to capitalize. But because we had a little bit of confidence, it’s amazing what it can do.”

East has four games left, and they’ll all be tough ones. It was scheduled to take on first-place Classical Tuesday, with results unavailable at press time. On Wednesday, the ’Bolts were set to take on second-place Cumberland.

After that, they’re at Burrillville on Monday and at home against Woonsocket on Wednesday to finish the season. The Woonsocket game is likely the most winnable one for East, as the Villa Novans have three wins on the season.