That may change this season.

The Golden Bears were 10-2 after defeating Dublin Jerome 2-0 last Monday, and coach McKenzie Hufford referred to a 2-0 loss to Thomas Worthington on Sept. 16 and a 3-1 loss to Watterson on Sept. 30 as "respectable losses," given the caliber of the opponents.

Thomas was a state semifinalist last season after winning the state championship in 2007, and Watterson was the state champion in 2005 and state runner-up in 2006 and '07.

"I'm very happy with where we're going," Hufford said. "It's OK to have losses, in my eyes, before the (state-qualifying) tournament comes, because you need to know how it feels (to lose). We don't want (that feeling). We still need to work on things and (the losses) will prepare us for when tournament time comes.

"We have great speed on the front line and our defense is very strong, they work together. We just need to communicate better when there are numbers (of opposing players) in our circle. But I think we have a very good chance of getting (to the state tournament). The final four is at UA, so it would be nice to play on our home turf."

The Bears' only state appearance came in 1990 when they lost to Kettering Fairmont 1-0 in the final.

Since they began playing host to the state tournament, they twice have come within one win of reaching state. Both times they lost to Watterson in a district final, losing 2-1 in 2004 and 2-0 in '05.

UA has lost in a district semifinal the last three seasons, with the latter two losses coming against eight-time state champion Columbus Academy. The Bears lost to the Vikings 5-1 in 2007 and 4-1 last season.

The Bears defeated Academy 2-0 on Sept. 21 behind goals by midfielders Kelsey Kessler and Erin Williams and seven saves by goalie Sydney Stype. The significance of the victory was two-fold. Not only is Academy one of the top programs in the state, but UA was 0-14-1 in its previous 15 matchups with the Vikings, having scored just four goals in those games.

"For me and the girls who have been on the team three years, it was a big revenge game for us, because they knocked us out of the tournament the last two years," Kessler said. "It's good to know that we can beat a good, skilled team like that."

"That was a great win for us, especially because we had seen them the last two years in the second round of the (state-qualifying tournament) and we lost to them," Hufford said. "So we really had some stuff that we wanted to prove to them."

The game against Watterson was scoreless at halftime. The Eagles built a 2-0 lead in the second half before forward Emily Messick scored for the Bears with 2 minutes, 22 seconds left. The Eagles scored their third goal with one second left.

"I think we really pushed ourselves and tried to do our best," Kessler said. "There are definitely some things we can learn from (the loss). We need work to work on marking in the circle, but I think we'll be ready if we have to play them again."

"There are great athletes on both teams, so it was fun to watch," Hufford said. "The first half, I thought we played very composed and confident. We didn't play panic hockey. But at the half, (Watterson) adjusted to what they needed to do and we didn't adjust to what we needed to do. We definitely have to learn from this. Our marking needs to be tighter and there has to be more communication in our circle to get the ball out of there. But for the most part, I was very pleased with our team."

UA plays Saturday at Toledo Ottawa Hills and Toledo Maumee Valley Country Day before concluding the regular season Wednesday at Bexley. The Bears then will prepare for the state-qualifying tournament, which starts Oct. 19.

The draw is Monday.

"We're definitely growing a lot closer and learning how to play with each other and read each other's passes," Kessler said. "There are only good things to come."

At a glance

Below are the recent results and coming schedule for the Upper Arlington field hockey team:

• Sept. 16 -- Lost to Thomas Worthington 2-0
• Sept. 21 -- Defeated Columbus Academy 2-0
• Sept. 24 -- Def. Dublin Coffman 5-0
• Sept. 26 -- Def. Cincinnati Ursuline Academy 4-0 and def. Cincinnati St. Ursula Academy 3-2 (OT)
• Sept. 28 -- Def. Kilbourne 1-0
• Sept. 30 -- Lost to Watterson 3-1
• Last Monday -- Def. Dublin Jerome 2-0
• Last Wednesday -- Played Olentangy Liberty
• Saturday -- At Toledo Ottawa Hills and Toledo Maumee Valley Country Day
• Wednesday -- At Bexley

Of note: The Bears were 10-2 before last Wednesday.