It took three tries, but the Long Beach City College women's soccer team earned its first win of the season after defeating visiting Grossmont College 4-0 in their home opener on Friday.
The non-conference victory improved Long Beach to 1-2 overall this season while Grossmont dropped to 0-4 this season.
Sophomore forward Denise Martinez led the Vikings, posting a pair of goals and one assist. Her goal in the 26th minute off an assist from freshman defender Tidy Nakashima put LBCC up 1-0.
Four minutes later, Martinez connected for an assist with sophomore forward Claudia Toledo to give the Vikings a 2-0 advantage.
"Denise stepped up big time for us today," said LBCC co-head coach Alex Camargo. "We are going to need that from her a lot this season."
The Vikings closed out the win with two more goals in the second half. Martinez headed in a goal off a corner kick from freshman defender Marissa Macias in the 71st minute. And freshman forward Priscilla Perez came off the bench to score in the 85th minute off an assist from Toledo.
"It was a good home opener for us," said Camargo. "We had a pair of tough games against Ventura and Fresno City to open up the season, so it was good to finally get a win."
Long Beach returns to action on Tuesday (Sept 13) when it travels to Santa Ana College for a 3 pm non-conference game.