REDMOND — A long, long dry spell has come to an end for the Redmond Panthers.

Winless in league play for the past six seasons, Redmond broke through Thursday with a 2-1 girls soccer win over Pendleton in the Panthers’ Class 5A Intermountain Conference season opener.

Redmond did manage a league tie last year, but the program’s most recent league win came in 2011, when the Panthers finished 1-5 in Class 6A Special District 1.

Alexa Martin’s penalty kick with about 15 minutes remaining broke a 1-1 tie and proved to be the winning goal Thursday. Rory Eldridge scored in the first half to give the host Panthers a 1-0 lead they took into halftime.

The win was especially satisfying for Martha Segura, Redmond’s third-year head coach and a 2005 Redmond High graduate who recalled playing for some strong Panthers teams.

“The program was thriving then. I always played on a winning team,” said the former Martha Billings. “It’s been so hard to see the girls struggle. We finally got one.”

Segura praised the play of freshman goalie Alyssa McConnell, who in her first varsity start made at least 15 saves, in the coach’s estimation. McConnell came on in Tuesday’s game at Central after junior Brianna Heikkila was injured. Segura said Thursday that the rookie has played well enough in goal that Heikkila will move to the stopper position when she returns to action and McConnell will stay at goalie.

Segura described the Pendleton match as “aggressive.”

“I was so proud of our girls for being aggressive themselves and not backing down,” said the coach.

As for getting a long-awaited conference victory, Segura said she is optimistic that there are more to come.

“It’s exciting,” she said. “And we’re not done yet.”