Irvine Valley's women's soccer team had played the likes of Santiago Canyon, Orange Coast and Cypress tough in matches this season.
IVC earned ties with each of those squads. But the Lasers were still looking for their first win of the season.
They earned it on Tuesday afternoon with a 1-0 victory over Golden West in an Orange Empire Conference match on the road.
Sophomore Yvette Belman scored for IVC in the 12th minute off an assist from sophomore midfielder Brenda Chopin.
Freshman defender Angela Hernandez fed the ball to Chopin, who sent a through pass to Belman. She beat two defenders and then fired a shot past the Golden West keeper.
"Yvette played amazing," Irvine Valley coach Joe Supe said. "We started her at striker and it was one of her best matches of the year."
The Lasers held on from there behind the defense of freshmen Lauren Berry, Savanna Hayes and Hernandez with help from freshman holding midfielder Ashley Jimenez.
"They all played great and really managed the game well once we got ahead," Supe said. "Savanna cleaned up everything that came her way."
Freshman keeper Marissa Banos earned the shutout, which was her second of the year. She made three saves in goal.
Irvine Valley will go after another win on Friday when it hosts Norco at 3 p.m. in a conference match.
