LOS ANGELES – Freshman Michaela Tsuha (Honolulu) opened her collegiate goals account and Elissa Minamishin (Waipahu, Hawaii) — a 2011 All-SCIAC Second Team member who led the Tigers in scoring last season — netted her first goal of the season as the Occidental College women's soccer team secured its first conference win of the year with a 2-1 win over La Verne at Jack Kemp Stadium on Saturday.

The Tigers (2-6, 1-5 SCIAC) struck first. In the 25^th minute, Kate Correll-Buss (Denver) sprayed a perfect diagonal ball from midfield to the streaking Tsuha on the right flank. La Verne's goalkeeper Delanie Pacheco came all the way out to about 30 yards from her goal to make a play, but Tsuha calmly cut past her and rolled the ball into the net from 25 yards out.

Tsuha was a terror all night long. In the first half alone, she scored a goal, fired a screaming shot from straight away that forced a jumping save from Pacheco, and drove a swerving shot, cutting in from left, that bounced off the far post.

Tsuha finished with four shots, three of them on goal.

La Verne (4-5, 1-5 SCIAC) equalized late in the first half when Marisella Macias struck the ball past Tayler Renshaw (Phoenix, Ariz.) in the 43^rd minute.

Although the two teams were knotted up at the break, Oxy was the dominant side by far, out-shooting the Leopards 7 to 2 in the 1^st half, creating more chances, and generally seeing more of the ball.

Oxy continued to pour it on in the second half and in the 60^th minute, Whitney Roline (Eugene, Ore.) found Minamishin racing down the middle of the penalty box and Minamishin pushed her attempt past Pacheco for the game-winning goal.

The Tigers could have scored again in the 83rd minute when Karina Garcia (Alhambra) fired a shot off a breakaway chance but it went straight to the keeper.

Garcia and Minamishin each finished with three shots and Megan Leslie (Woodbury, Minn.) added two.

The Tigers return to action at Chapman on Wednesday at 5 p.m.