Budgies opened the defence of their Bermuda Hockey Federation League title with a 15-0 victory over Sandpipers at the weekend.

Jasmine Patterson scored six goals for Budgies, who also had hat-tricks from Alex Francis, Patterson’s fellow Bermuda forward, and Sydney Fischer. Robin Stemple, Amy Fox and Angela Dunston rounded out the scoring.

Patterson was part of an impressive summer for the national team, but hit the uprights several times for Bermuda and released some pent-up frustration at the weekend before the national team travel to Jamaica for the Central American and Caribbean Games qualifiers, which start on November 5..

“I’m just trying to get into the groove of goalscoring, what it feels like when it does happen,” Patterson said. “I am still in national team mentality right now. Also, we have junior players and to see the intensity that we have been playing at during the summer, we hope to all bring that to the league as well. It’s the first game and we know that [the national team players] are travelling, so we want to make sure that our goal difference is up in the high numbers.”

Patterson hit a post inside the first minute and then saw a shot come down off the underside of the crossbar, but fail to cross the goalline. Francis scored twice to put Budgies 2-0 ahead soon afterwards, then dribbled into the shooting circle and hit a post, with Patterson snaffling up the rebound to begin her scoring spree.

It was 4-0 when another Francis shot was kick-saved, with Patterson again converting the rebound.

Patterson turned provider next, when she dribbled into the circle, with Fischer getting on the end of her pass on the back post to make it 5-0.

Patterson completed her hat-trick from just inside the circle before Fischer made it 7-0 with her second goal.

An impressive move was finished off by Patterson for Budgies’ eighth, with Fox and Erica Parsons involved in the build-up, and Parsons played in Fischer for her hat-trick to make it 9-0 at half-time.

Patterson scored her fifth and put Budgies into double figures inside the first minute of the restart and Francis netted her third with a close-range finish, before Stemple made it 12-0.

Fox made it 13 after good work from Patterson before Angela Dunston, normally the Bermuda goalkeeper, made it 14 and Patterson rounded off her double hat-trick to complete the scoring.

Budgies had plenty of young talent on show too, including Lauren Cardwell, a Saltus Grammar School student who is in her second year with the team.

“I had a lot of good passes and people were really open for me, so it went really well,” she said. ”The [senior players are] really welcoming when you’re just starting. They’ll help you out and tell you where the different positions are. They’re open for passes and really nice and kind about each other.”

In Sunday’s other games, Jess Hollis and Chrysda Smith led Ravens to a 6-1 win over Canaries and Mixed A beat Pink Robins 10-0.