The Lakeland High School field hockey team is not accustomed to dropping games to Southeastern District opponents, and after doing so a few times last year, the Lady Cavaliers started the 2015 season as avengers.

Western Branch High School dealt Lakeland a loss in 2014, but the Lady Bruins left Suffolk with a 2-1 loss on Tuesday.

Lakeland coach Cortney Parker was pleased with how her girls performed in their first game of the season.

“They were ready to play,” she said. “If they were nervous, they didn’t show it at all — a lot different from last year’s team.”

Last year, Lakeland opened the season with a 4-1 loss to Great Bridge High School, the Lady Cavs’ first loss to a district opponent since 2002. Parker described her girls as playing timidly against the Lady Wildcats.

Such could not be said of them on Tuesday.

“I think it’s the fact that they’re more experienced,” Parker said. “We have a good senior group, and I think they just needed that one year playing together at the varsity level last year.”

Lakeland got on the scoreboard early in the game against Western Branch via a goal by junior Lexis Munford. The assist came from senior Taylor Roten.

The Lady Bruins scored within 10 minutes of that to knot the game at 1-1.

With little more than five minutes to go in the first half, the Lady Cavaliers took advantage of a penalty corner. Senior Stasha Waterfield scored, with the assist coming from junior Kendall Lewis.

The second half was scoreless, and Parker noted that a lot of penalty cards were handed out. Both teams played down a player at times.

“Western Branch is a very physical team, but we played through it,” she said. “The last three minutes, Western Branch really pressured our goal, and we held our own.”

A deciding factor in the game, Parker said, was her own team’s offensive pressure.

“That’s the thing we’re going to be focused on this year,” she said.

Lakeland (1-0) hosts Oscar Smith High School today.