Battling back from an arduous weekend in Rochester at the Rachel Miller Memorial Classic, the Allegheny women’s soccer team earned its first win of the season on Tuesday, Sept. 5. The visiting team, the Geneva College Golden Tornadoes, were overcome 6-1.

The Gators’ home opener on the Frank B. Fuhrer Field at the Robertson Athletic Complex demonstrated the offensive capability of the team after being defeated in the first two games of their season, by the Rochester Institute of Technology’s women’s team, 3-0, on Friday, Sept. 1, and by Nazareth College, 6-0, on Saturday, Sept. 2.

“I think the win on Tuesday proved to us that we are better than the RIT [Rochester Institute of Technology] tournament results,” said midfielder Bella Martinez, ’19. “As long as we stay focused, we will be a strong competitor in our conference.”

Martinez had a pair of assists under the lights at the home opener against Geneva College on Tuesday. Assisted by Martinez, Taylor Renk, ’20 and Hannah Smith, ’19, both scored their first goals for the season. Smith scored her second goal of the match and the final goal of the game against Geneva in the 85th minute, by finishing an unpossessed ball in the 18-yard box of the opposing team.

“We needed this win to boost back our confidence,” said Smith. “We needed this to get us moving into the right direction.”

Freshman Shannon McGuinn and Kelli Gaus also scored the first goals of their collegiate soccer careers on Tuesday. McGuinn scored her first collegiate goal at the start of the second half, assisted by center midfielder, Sarah Sherwood, ’18. For her second goal of the match, McGuinn had a breakaway from midfield, and juked through three separate Golden Tornado defenders.

“I was happy that I was able to help the team extend our lead even more,” McGuinn said. “Scoring for the first time was great, but it was even better that it helped my team get the win.”

Gaus scored the first goal of the game and the only goal of the first half. Assisted by Smith, Gaus met the ball in the center of the opposing team’s 18-yard box, maximized the opportunity and finished with a header goal. Her mother, a 1985 graduate and a former Allegheny women’s volleyball team member, watched Gaus score from the stands on Tuesday.

“I was really excited for both myself and for the team since it was our first goal of the season,” said Gaus. “I was happy that my grandmother and mom were there to see it as well.”

The six goals scored against Geneva on Tuesday became the team’s most goals in a game since October 2, 2010, when the Gators defeated their conference opponent, Oberlin, 6-0.

The Allegheny women’s soccer team will next host Case Western Reserve at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 9, at the Robertson Athletic Complex.