The Los Medanos College women’s soccer team was in a drought to start the season, but found its oasis against De Anza College.

Previously, the Mustangs had not been able to capture a victory, or even score their first goal of the season. But that changed after LMC tasted victory for the first time with a 2-0 shutout win versus the visiting Dons.

Midfielder Samantha Donovan was the player to score LMC’s inaugural goal of the 2018 campaign and it came in an unorthodox fashion. Donovan set up a corner kick with the intention to connect with one of her teammates, instead she ended up finding the back of the net as the ball got in between the goalkeeper and the nearest post to Donovan.

“It was frustrating at first [not scoring] but were still learning to play as a team,” Donovan said. “I was not expecting to score that one, but so I can’t believe I did that.”

Defender Emma Spears added to LMC’s lead in the first half as she scored a long ranged shot from 45 yards out that just got over the head of the De Anza goalkeeper.

The offense was certainly on fire this game, producing 27 shots, including two that bounced off the crossbar and a close one where Sofia Kerns had a one-on-one encounter with the goalkeeper but her shot was blocked.

“We’ve been working breaking lines and getting more players on the attack,” head coach Zach Sullivan said. “We need to commit to finishing those chances, I think they’ll come with practice. The more time we train together we will be better.”

Sullivan said that the biggest focus coming into the game was working the defense, and their work reflected that. They only allowed one shot in the entire match, and it was saved by goalkeeper Rylie Pearson, who transferred over from Diablo Valley College.

“We worked on our back six shape and played our zonal defense a lot,” said Sullivan. “We were staying more compact and organized.”

LMC had a very rough home opener, losing to Bakersfield College 3-0. This bounceback victory serves as a confidence boost, especially since they host San Joaquin Delta College on Friday, Sept. 7 who are regarded to be one of the most elite teams in California.