Buckingham County High School’s varsity girls soccer team burst onto the scoreboard Monday, defeating host Cumberland High School 8-1 for its first win of 2017, providing a hint of the success it showed it was capable of last year in its inaugural season.

With the victory, the Lady Knights improved to 1-3 this year.

“The girls have been playing really well, it just took us awhile to get going on the scoring front,” Buckingham Head Coach Russell Taylor said.

The Lady Knights went scoreless in their first three games of the year, but a rebound made sense given that a majority of players returned from the 2016 squad that got the Buckingham varsity girls soccer program off to a remarkable start, going 6-6 and winning a regional playoff game against Dan River High School.

“I think the girls should have a successful season,” Taylor said. “As long as they come and play their best every game, I think we have a shot at finishing on the upper half of the conference table. As far as postseason is concerned, the teams are really evenly matched in our region, so it’s really anybody’s game when you get to that point in the season.”

The 2017 Lady Knights include nine juniors, four seniors and two sophomores, but they still lack experience in comparison to many of their opponents.

“A lot of the girls from the other teams have been playing together for a while whereas our girls program is only in its second year and about 80 percent of my team had never even played soccer before last year,” Taylor said.

Buckingham benefits from a year of experience, however, as the coach said his standouts this season are the same from last year: center midfielder Rachel Temple, now a senior, right wing Samantha Aldridge, now a senior, and forward Sarah Whittington, now a junior.

Other members of the starting lineup include forward Destiny Sutton, center defenders Macie Crotts and Amanda Smith, right defender Tiana Holman, left defender Jakiera Ayres and goalkeeper Amanda Bryan.

Buckingham visits Prince Edward County High School on Monday, April 17, at 5 p.m.