Portsmouth’s Jessica Smith recorded three goals against Bedford during a recent field hockey game, but it wasn’t due to any deficiency in the Bulldogs.

“I’ve seen a drastic improvement since the first time I played them,” said the senior. “Each time we’ve played them we’ve seen the growth and improvement, and you know they’re only going to get better.”

Though the Bedford field hockey team has struggled in its first years as a varsity program, final scores haven’t always indicated the local team’s level of play.

On Thursday, Oct. 8, Bedford fell to the visiting Clippers at home, 5-2, despite keeping the score close into the second half.

The Bulldogs possessed the ball in the offensive zone for the majority of the first five minutes of play, applying heavy pressure without putting shots on net.

Portsmouth took a 2-0 edge thanks to goals within five minutes of each other, including Smith’s first at the 21:14 mark of the first half.

With 19:56 remaining, Bedford head coach Jill Corson called a timeout to regroup her team, which settled in and appeared poised to enter halftime trailing by a pair of goals.

Smith had other ideas, scoring with 28 seconds remaining after Bedford goalie Ashley Donahue made a solid kick save and went to clear the ball out of the box. An odd bounce put the ball on Smith’s stick, and she found the back of the net for a 3-0 Portsmouth lead at the break.

“At the time, that was a really big goal,” said Corson. “It deflated them a little, but we talked about it at halftime, came out in the second half and really made it a competitive game.”

Jessica Hughes trimmed the deficit to 3-1 with 23:09 left in the game after Andrea Wilson drove from midfield toward the net and found Caitlyn Cannone, who earned the assist thanks to a nifty move in the box.

Roughly two minutes later, halfback Nicole Siegart made sure the score remained 3-1 for the time being when she scooped out a Portsmouth shot that was destined for the open net, clearing it safely to the side.

The Clippers, 8-4 after the victory, added two late tallies to push the lead to 5-1, and though Hughes scored again, the Bulldogs dropped to 3-9 on the season.

Despite the loss, Corson said she and her team remain optimistic.

“I’m happy with the program,” she said. “They’re really coming into their own. Sometimes I think they don’t realize how good they are. We have a really bright future.”