Alicia Torcaso scored a hat-trick on debut to help Melrose beat champions Albury United 4-3 on the opening day of the season.
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Playing against her former club, Torcaso took just eight minutes to open her account for the Purple Army and she had doubled her tally six minutes after the restart.
Midway through the second half, Torcaso's treble was complete but the home side were hanging on by the end after United came charging back into the game.
"It feels good to score a goal on any day but today, even more so," Torcaso said.
"The wait was so worth it.
![Alicia Torcaso pulls the trigger for Melrose against Albury United at Melrose Park on Sunday, where the home side won a seven-goal thriller. Picture by James Wiltshire Alicia Torcaso pulls the trigger for Melrose against Albury United at Melrose Park on Sunday, where the home side won a seven-goal thriller. Picture by James Wiltshire](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/131362666/978da260-52b8-413a-81cc-02d63a75574d.jpg/r401_766_5472_3563_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"I was really nervous and being against United made me even more nervous but as soon as I got one goal, I thought 'we can do this.'
"That's the first time this Melrose squad have played together so to come out like that, we're pretty proud."
The breakthrough came early when Torcaso got to the ball ahead of United goalkeeper Samantha Clark and hit the post before tucking in the rebound.
Melrose were all over United, snapping into tackles and going close through Inde-Ana Burgess, Maya Davis and Eva Davis while 15-year-old Lilly Melbourne showed pace, tenacity and no little skill in a hugely impressive display out wide.
Davis rifled Melrose into a 2-0 lead from the corner of the box six minutes before half-time and Torcaso's second goal was a wonderful effort which swirled into the top corner following a smart turn.
![Lilly Melbourne skips away from Amy Roser down the Melrose left. Picture by James Wiltshire Lilly Melbourne skips away from Amy Roser down the Melrose left. Picture by James Wiltshire](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/131362666/1ae8a4df-7202-4510-9dde-3dbbc6b9ba0b.jpg/r0_0_4987_3325_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
United pulled a goal back through Ruby Leslie as Melrose waited for an offside flag which never came, only for Torcaso to swap passes with Maya Davis and finish neatly to restore the three-goal lead.
Melrose keeper Georgia Taylor was out smartly to thwart Ruby Crawford but she was then beaten by two Zoie Dalitz efforts from the United left which set up a grandstand finish.
The defending was desperate at times but Melrose held on.
"It feels pretty awesome this early in the season because quite a few of us haven't actually played together before," captain Maya Davis said.
"There's definitely bigger and better things coming for us but it's a very nice way to start the season, especially with a few new faces on board."
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