The Cranston co-op field hockey team dropped a tough 2-1 decision to visiting Rocky Hill last week in the season opener. It was the co-op’s first game of the season after two weather-related cancellations.

Sophomore Sara Regine would find the back of the cage to put Cranston on the board, but Rocky Hill would control the pace throughout the second half to close out the victory.

Cranston is continuing to build its program this fall and has welcomed 23 girls, increasing last year’s total of 13 to nearly double the roster. From here, the coaching staff is looking to get the young players acclimated while building toward the future. The roster has 15 underclassmen.

“We’re a very deep team, but we’re young. The first game was a little rough with only five girls that had played previously. We’re learning and I think we’re going to be a team to be dealt with in the future. We had chances to tie it but we just couldn’t slap it in there. It was a good game,” said coach Matt Davis, who returns for his second season.

Leading the way will be captains Melanie DeLeon, Chloe Landy, Julia Levy and Lily Tillinghast. Davis will also be relying on sophomore goalie Savanna Theroux, who is transitioning from the soccer field where she was also a keeper.

“She’s unbelievable. She has that goalie mentality and knows exactly what she needs to do. I give her a lot of credit. We needed a goalie and she stepped right up. She’s going to be a force to be reckoned with. She’s aggressive and she’s not afraid of the ball,” said Davis.

As Cranston rebuilds this fall, the goal will be simple: Improve every day while maintaining the numbers. Davis and his staff are also looking to nail down a system while they continue to assess each player’s game.

“We are starting with 23 girls and if we finish with 23 girls, that’s a success. I’m very proud of the girls. They are learning the game and they are a great group of girls to coach,” Davis said. “We are trying to pick the girls and put them where they will be most successful. We’ve been going back and forth. They’ve been thrown into the fire.”

Cranston fell to 0-1 with the loss and took on powerhouse Classical on Tuesday, but the results were not available at press time. The co-op will next face Pilgrim on Thursday afternoon for another divisional contest.