After losing their season opener, the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School field hockey team went on a hot streak this past week, winning two games in impressive fashion while tying two others, including a stalemate against Division I powerhouse Somerset, widely considered to be one of the strongest teams on the Vineyard’s schedule this year.

Coach Lisa Knight is ecstatic about her team’s performance. After a frustrating loss to Sandwich in the opener, team members were eager to get back on the field and prove themselves.

— Mark Alan Lovewell

“Right now we are playing like a well-oiled machine,” Coach Knight said. “Everything is so fluid . . . considering it’s so early in the season, it’s really impressive.”

On the road last Thursday, the girls dominated West Bridgewater with a 6-1 win. Abby Entner scored first on an assist from Kate Cecilio, who would score two goals of her own in the first half. Katie Hines and Brianna Davies also had goals.

On Saturday the girls shut out the Westport Wildcats at home 4-0 behind goalie Amanda Rose. Cecilio, Katie Hines and Hayley Pierce each had goals.

They jumped out to an early lead at home against Somerset on Tuesday, as Pierce scored on a corner kick play on an assist from Cecilio. They increased the lead to 2-0 minutes later on a goal from Cecilio, although the Raiders scored two unanswered goals to tie the score 2-2 at the half.

The Vineyard girls gained back the lead after the break on Cecilio’s second goal of the game, but the Raiders again got the equalizer for a final score of 3-3.

Coach Knight said playing to a tie against such a powerful opponent gave her team a huge boost. “It meant a lot for our players to step up in such a big spot. That was an intense game . . . you could almost feel the ground shaking. But they were up to the challenge,” the coach said.

The girls played on the road against Bishop Stang yesterday and next play at home against Sandwich on Oct. 2 at 3:15 p.m.

Football

Last Friday’s nonleague win against Charlestown came from a forfeit.

“I would have rather played the game and lost than get a win by forfeit,” said Vineyard coach Donald Herman, whose season is off to a frustrating start.

Coach Herman said the Vineyard was informed at 11:35 a.m. on Thursday that Charlestown only had eight eligible players and could not field a team. He scrambled to find another game, but the five schools with open dates — Quincy, Mystic Valley, Cape Tech, Dorchester and West Roxbury — said there just wasn’t enough time.

“I’ve been doing this a long time, and this is first time this has happened,” the coach said of the forfeit.

The Vineyarders play their first game in the new Eastern Athletic Conference tonight at home against Coyle Cassidy. Kickoff is 6:30 p.m.

Boys’ Soccer

The relatively young boys’ soccer team has an impressive 2-2-1 record on the season, including a thrilling come-from-behind win on Saturday against powerhouse Westport, a team with one of the region’s top players.

Alex Ferreira scored two early goals to give Westport a 2-0 advantage. But the Vineyard’s Leandro Trindade reeled off three goals to give his team the lead en route to an impressive 5-3 win. Feilipe Freitas and Augusto Nunes also had goals for the Vineyard.

Goalie Patrick Lampart shut down Westport in the second half, while sweeper Jack Wadley was impressive.

Coach Damon Burke was pleased. “I think it was a big step for us,” he said, adding:

“We have settled down and learned to play simply; more than anything we started sharing the ball. I would like to see some stiffer tackling, and see them spread the ball out the entire width of the field, but we have made real progress. We are learning to play together.”

The Vineyard boys played yesterday at Somerset, the first Eastern Athletic Conference game of the season, and next play at home Saturday against rival Falmouth.