Round 3 action of the NPLW Victoria saw Galaxy United travel to Keilor Park to face Calder United, but Vincenzo Ierardo’s side went home empty handed with a 4-1 defeat.
Aneta Komijat was the side’s scorer, but the visitors were powerless to resist as Enza Barilla dominated with a hat-trick, while Rachel Alonso nabbed the side’s other goal, to seal the victory for Mark Torcaso’s outfit.
It all started well enough for Geelong, when Sadie Murphy capitalised on an error at the back to tee up Komijat for a simple finish in just the seventh minute.
Geelong had all the running early on, and should have been two to the good when Beth Mason-Jones saved Jess Tay’s effort from distance, with Kariah White missing over the bar from close range on the follow up.
At the other end, the hosts were finding their feet, but a couple of speculative efforts from Jess Pitts and Alonso didn’t trouble the scorers.
Mason-Jones was again called upon to rescue her side from falling further behind when Komijat found Tay in the box, but the custodian leaped to palm the shot away.
Calder then sounded a couple of warning bells when Alonso played through Barilla, whose poke at goal was stopped by an oncoming Kelsey Quinn.
The goal eventually came via a good team move when Gulcan Koca’s distribution from the back found Tijen Hussein on the wing, who then found Barilla for a neat finish.
It got even better from the hosts, who turned the deficit approaching the break into a lead.
The move started with a positive move from converted fullback Stacey Papadopoulos, whose run forward saw the ball find Alonso for the goal via passes from Maria Rampal and Barilla.
Calder continued their momentum after half time when Barilla hassled the defence to force the turnover and a clear route on goal, making no mistake with the finish.
The game entered a lull thereafter as both backlines managed to cut out most of the supply coming their way.
The contest did see the return of Laura Spiranovic from a long injury layoff, and she immediately posed a threat up front with her dribbling and link up play.
It couldn’t spark a comeback, however, as the hosts added the cherry on top via substitute Baldiston, who slipped through Barilla for her hat-trick.
It leaves Galaxy with their first defeat of the season, while Calder march on to their third straight victory to begin the season.
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Calder United 4 (Barilla 41′ 53′ 83′, Alonso 44′) defeated Galaxy United 1 (Komijat 7′) at Keilor Park
Calder United: 1. Beth-Mason Jones, 13. Claudio Fruscalzo (9 Tyla-Jay Vlajnic 48′), 10. Gulcan Koca, 4. Rachel Binning, 15. Stacey Papadopoulos, 23. Jess Pitts, 11. Jess Au (3. Holly Boldiston 68′), 6. Aliesha Newman (17. Tijen Hussein 13′ (18. Bianca Trimboli 81′)), 7. Enza Barilla, 14. Rachel Alonso, 2. Marie Rampal (5. Giulia Sepe 63′)
Galaxy United: 23. Kelsey Quinn, 2. Annabel Martin, 5. Sky Jensen, 7. Kat Smith, 15. Adriana Taranto, 16. Mel Taranto, 14. Jess Tay (3. Jess Kenyon 81′), 4. Aneta Komijat (13. Brittany Elsen 76′), 17. Sadie Murphy, 19. Kariah White (9. Laura Spiranovic 57′), 10. Sarah Sumner (30. Caitlin Pickett 45′)
Unused Subs: 1. Katie Neville