For the past four years, the Pilgrim field hockey team took the field and competed hard. That was the positive.

The negative, though, was that the Pats were out of place in Division I. Without a feeder system and with a lot of players picking up a stick for the first time once they reached high school, they couldn’t contend with some of the state’s upper echelon squads. They won just nine games over those four years.

Pilgrim plans on competing just as hard when the 2014 season officially beings. And the Pats expect it to pay off this time.

The Pats are one of four teams, along with Tiverton, South Kingstown and Woonsocket, that moved down to Division II thanks to Rhode Island Interscholastic League realignment. Now in a place with teams much more comparable in terms of skill level, Pilgrim is looking for results.

The last time Pilgrim was in Division II, in 2009, it went 12-2-2 and had the second-most points in the division.

“They still know that we have to work hard, because those teams that we played in Division I that moved down with us, we split some games with them, we lost to some of them,” said Pilgrim head coach Steph Shields, now in her second year at the helm. “We still have to work hard. Just because we dropped down doesn’t make the season easier, it just makes each game more competitive overall.”

The move down in division, while certainly a big factor when it comes to the team’s optimism, is not the only factor. Pilgrim has 25 players out for the team and graduated only a handful from last year. Most of the varsity players have significant experience from the past few years and it’s showing already.

In Saturday’s 20-minute Injury Fund contests, Pilgrim lost 1-0 to South Kingstown, tied Cumberland 0-0 and beat Warwick Vets 3-1. It was a solid showing for its first time taking the field in a real competitive situation.

“It’s been great,” Shields said. “We had a great preseason week.”

Adding to the new feel around the team this year was the way those Injury Fund goals were scored. Last season, Pilgrim scored fewer than 10 goals, and freshman Paula Cavanagh scored all of them.

While Cavanagh is back – and figures to be one of the division’s better players – all three goals in the Injury Fund were scored by senior Loren Saucier. A more diverse scoring attack could make the Pats dangerous.

“With the experience that we have there and Paula hopefully being able to get open and get girls open, then I think that will help us as well,” Shields said.

Pilgrim has experience all over the field. Defensively, seniors Lillian Saran, Dera Silvestre and Sarah Dolan are back, as are senior midfielders Chrissy Cavanagh and Ellen McDonnell.

Juniors Elicia Nemirow, Madison Stanley, Emma Vincent and Madison Yehle are also players with experience who should make an impact.

“Going in, we’re pleased with the experience that we do have,” Shields said.

In net, Pilgrim graduated three-year starter Courtney Cardoza. While those are big shoes to fill, the Pats think they have a solid replacement in sophomore Alex Pouliot.

Pouliot took over as the varsity lacrosse goalie halfway through last spring season, and helped Pilgrim to a spot in the Division III championship game. She doesn’t have any field hockey goalie experience, but she’s embracing the role and flourishing early on.

“She wanted to try, so we put her in some gear and she’s doing great already,” Shields said. “She’s having a ball doing it to, which is good. She’s excited.”

The sum of everything, then, gives Pilgrim reason to believe it can genuinely make a run in Division II. It has experience, it’s finally in the division it belongs in, and the players are working hard with a common goal in mind.

After four long years in Division I, the Pats are ready to start winning some games again.

“I think we’re going to be in every game,” Shields said. “I think we have a good chance every single game to win. If we play well and do the things that we know how to do, obviously I think for most teams, they’re looking at playoffs by the end of the season. That’s definitely our goal. We’ve talked about it as a team and the girls are definitely on board.”

Pilgrim opens the season at home Thursday at 3:45 p.m. against South Kingstown. Also on its schedule this season are league games with city rivals Warwick Vets and Toll Gate, another positive side effect of the move to Division II. Pilgrim will play Vets on Sept. 12 and Toll Gate on Sept. 18.