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Students attending the Bullis Middle School are required to participate in a sport during each of the three seasons. Which was not a problem for current Bullis senior Shahara Anderson-Davis.

Not a big fan of soccer, Anderson-Davis chose to try her hand at field hockey in the fall of her sixth-grade year. Seven seasons later, Anderson-Davis appears to have made the right choice. She has become the county's most prolific scorer this fall with 22 goals and eight assists, and one of the key components to what has become the best season in the program's history at least in terms of wins.

"She's always been a great goal-scorer," Bullis coach Julie Delinsky said. "Her first varsity start two years ago, she scored two goals and she has been scoring ever since then. She had 12 goals last year, the second highest on the team. This year it's all coming together at another level."

Anderson-Davis has been productive the entire fall, sparking the Bulldogs to a 12-1-1 overall record and a 7-1-1 mark in the Independent School League through Monday. But her contributions have reached a new level in recent victories.

She notched the game-winning goal with 4 seconds remaining to defeat a solid Good Counsel squad, 1-0, on Oct. 6 and added another game-winning score in a 1-0 win against Holton-Arms on Oct. 14. Anderson-Davis banged in two goals in a 3-1 win against league foe Sidwell Friends on Oct. 16 and followed with the only score in a 1-0 victory against National Cathedral.

"I think we've done so well because we have a strong defense and our offense is the most dynamic since I've been here," Anderson-Davis said. "The support I have from my team and because of my coach; from Coach [Delinsky], I've learned a lot about the game."

"She's really aggressive," Bullis freshman Idrienne Walker said. "She goes for the ball in the circle and she scores. It's fun playing with her."

Anderson-Davis has enjoyed competing alongside Walker as well, as the talented newcomer had assisted on 11 of her goals and posted five scores of her own with a total of 12 assists through Monday. They combine to form one of, if not the most productive front lines in the county.

"Idrienne has five goals herself and as a freshman her stick skills are impressive," Delinsky said. "She feeds Shahara the ball. They play so well off each other. Shahara's 22 goals wouldn't happen without Idrienne. Together, they're hard to stop."  

The combined play of Anderson-Davis and Walker, plus the defensive prowess of Caroline Queen, have helped the Bulldogs stay on pace for their best season ever. The 12 wins surpass last year's program-best with a few regular season matches and the league tournament still to be played. The team's lone loss was to ISL powerhouse St. Stephen's/St. Agnes (Va.). It tied league leader Georgetown Visitation last week.

As a program, Bullis produced a combined 71-132-22 record from 1994 through last season.