Her historical perspective may have been a bit off, but her shot accuracy was spot on.

Huffman scored the only goal of the match on a free kick from roughly 35 yards away to lift the Bobcats to a 1-0 triumph over Newton in Monday’s season opener at Leonard Cole Field. It marks Marshalltown’s first win against the Cardinals since the spring of 2008, when Huffman was in fact just 2 years old.

The junior defender capitalized on a hand ball call against Newton, which had won 15 straight over MHS and included last year’s 7-0 setback — the most lopsided match of the series in at least the last 15 years.

A goal by Lissa Duff was the lone tally in Marshalltown’s 2008 triumph, and Huffman’s long-range shot skipped off the outstretched gloves of Newton goalkeeper Natalee Freese and under the crossbar to account for Monday’s only score.

T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE - Marshalltown sophomore Stefani Gutierrez, left, tries to maneuver for a shot against Newton defender Estella Allen (4) during the first half of Monday’s soccer match at Leonard Cole Field.

Marshalltown had been outscored 41-5 by the Cardinals during the 15-match streak, but Huffman was intent on making as much of an impact as she could in her short time with the team this season. The junior defender is slated for hip surgery next week that will sideline her for 6-9 months, she said.

“I don’t think we’ve beaten Newton since I’ve been in high school for sure, so it was great just starting the season on the right foot,” said Huffman. “The hips hurt a lot, I’ve got one game until I get surgery so I’m just hoping to stay healthy for the next one.

“I’m really proud of myself for battling through an injury and being able to do that for my team and start them off on the right foot because they’re actually going to finish out the season and I’m going to get to watch from the sidelines and cheer them on.”

The goal at the 26:32 mark of the first half stood up as MHS freshman goalkeeper Lilyia Christen withstood all eight shots she faced. Newton’s offense didn’t relent after falling behind and the Cardinals, behind sophomore strikers Briana and Brooklyn Shannon, kept the pressure on.

Bobcat junior defender Natalie Andrade also recorded what would have to be considerd a save on a Newton free kick on a shot that got around Christen.

T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE - Marshalltown freshman defender Jorja Janssen (12) gains possession in front of Newton forward Brooklyn Shannon (11) during the first half of Monday’s girls soccer match at Leonard Cole Field. Janssen was one one of six freshmen to make her varsity debut.

It was just a part of the theme for the evening for MHS. The defensive-minded Bobcats integrated 14 returners with a number of freshmen in their lineup, and a lot of the match was a learning experience.

“We had a lot of girls playing who are freshmen so I think it took us a little while to get into how we were going to play and moving people around to find their spots,” said MHS head coach Stacy Galema. “We return a lot — 14 girls help us calm down and keep our base.”

The singular win to start the spring matches Marshalltown’s win total for each of the last three seasons.

“It’s definitely been a while since we beat Newton … but you’ll take any win you can get for sure,” Galema said.

Marshalltown was outshot by the visiting Cardinals 9-6, including one shot off the crossbar (and another off the football goalpost), and both teams had two corner kicks. Newton was whistled for six fouls to Marshalltown’s three in a game that grew increasinly physical as the clock wound down toward zero.

Huffman even sat out for a 10-minute period late in the second half despite her importance on the pitch marking up against Briana Shannon. Carroll Gomez Reyes stepped up in Huffman’s absence as the Bobcats’ back line, including Jorja Janssen, Aubrie Tejada and Andrade, held firm.

Huffman returned to the field long enough to help Marshalltown finish off the season-opening win, and she wrapped her arms around Gomez Reyes and McKenna Coleman in celebration of the victory.

“I’m trying to leave it out on the line and set my teammates up for more this season because I don’t know when the next time I’m going to get to play is,” Huffman said.

The Bobcats’ next contest will be at home again on Thursday with a 7 p.m. showdown against Central Iowa United.