It was always going to be a process for the Cranston East field hockey team, and that reality is playing out for the ’Bolts in the early part of the season.

With a young team and little field hockey experience on the roster, East has struggled thus far, falling to 0-4 in Division II on Monday with a 7-0 loss to Burrillville.

There have been negatives – the loss to Burrillville, and a matching 7-0 loss to Classical – but also positives, such as a 2-0 loss to first-place Cumberland.

The ’Bolts are just trying to grow, and the idea is to take fewer lumps as the season progresses.

“They’re practicing hard, they’re working hard,” said East head coach Jim Creamer. “It’s not translating onto the field yet, but as it progresses, it should get better.”

One of the issues East has faced early in the season is that it has gone up against some of the division’s top players, including Burrillville’s Kasey Desrosiers.

Desrosiers was dominant on Monday, scoring four times and adding an assist in the win.

She scored Burrillville’s third and final goal of the first half, scored their next two in the second half and then rounded out the scoring with a final goal in the last two minutes of the game.

“The last couple games we’ve played some teams that have some very skilled girls,” Creamer said. “(Desrosiers) today, she’s a very good player. That’s what happens – they score and then we get down.”

The Broncos wasted little time getting on the board, as Gabby Belisle found the goal just 1:33 into the contest. Over the next 20 minutes, East held tough, limiting Burrillville’s chances and generating a few moments of pressure.

The ’Bolts’ defensive group of Brittany Rice, Allison Simas, Lorraine Guerra and Vivien Yau kept the Broncos at bay, fighting off a pair of penalty corners.

But with 7:34 left, Belisle pushed the ball hard to the right post and sent a pass across the zone to the far post, where Kirstina Iavarone was waiting. East goalkeeper Shoshana Adler made a frantic attempt to get there, and did, but the rebound went right back to Iavarone, who punched it in for a 2-0 lead.

It was a similar story three minutes later, as Derosiers got a clean breakaway only to have Adler make the initial save. Yet, the rebound went back to her stick and she hit the ball high into the goal to make it 3-0.

Despite the seven goals allowed by Adler on the day, she was a bright spot, making 13 saves. Over the course of the four games, she’s made 63 saves, including a 23-save performance and a 20-save performance.

“Our goaltending has been outstanding,” Creamer said. “Shoshana has had a ton of work and she’s responded really well. She’s faced over 20 shots each game. She just does a great job.”

Derosiers scored just over a minute into the second half to make it 4-0, before East came back with one of its best chances of the day. Off a restart, Yau took a big swing for the ’Bolts and connected solidly, sending the ball hard just left of the Burrillville goal.

Unfortunately for East, it skipped past the offense and rolled harmlessly out of bounds.

“The girls are working hard,” Creamer said. “It’s a work in progress. I’m sure it’s disappointing for them, but they are working hard.”

Derosiers added Burrillville’s fifth goal with 14 minutes to play, and Holly Cassidy scored the team’s sixth goal at the 7:45 mark. Derosiers then scored again late in the contest.

Burrillville improved to 1-2-1 with the win.

East’s next game will be today at 1-1-1 Woonsocket at 3:45 p.m.

The only other winless team in D-II is Toll Gate, and the ’Bolts will host them on Oct. 1.

“Going forward we’ll get better, improve and see better results,” Creamer said.