The Glenelg girls soccer team had plenty of early-season questions waiting to be answered when Howard County rival Marriotts Ridge visited on Friday.

The No. 7 Gladiators found positive answers all over the field.

With two goals each from senior forward Amanda Lyons and freshman midfielder Kayla Renehan and sturdy defense when needed, Glenelg came away with a convincing 4-1 win over the No. 8 Mustangs.

The home team surrendered an early goal but stayed poised and took control the rest of the way.

Glenelg improves to 2-0 on the season, while Marriotts Ridge falls to 1-1.

“Them scoring the early goal really got our heads in the game,” Lyons said. “It put things in perspective and we played hard from that point on and dominated.”

The Mustangs struck early, earning a corner kick five minutes in and turning it into a 1-0 advantage when junior Morgan Crable collected the clearing attempt and hit a heavy shot to the right corner from more than 20 yards.

The early deficit didn’t faze the Gladiators, who carried the play for the rest of the half with a steady attack that netted a 2-1 halftime lead.

Lyons tied the game in the 15th minute with a shot from 10 yards, and Renehan gave the Gladiators the one-goal advantage with 3:25 left in the half with a shot from eight yards.

The Mustangs pressed early in the second half but the Gladiators defense held its ground. Seniors Casey Vantucci and Megan Pawtowski both blocked shots right in front seven minutes into the half, and then goalkeeper Brooke Carey tipped a long shot off the crossbar and then took the rebound try off the foot of Mustangs junior forward Samantha Terrill with 26 minutes to play.

Lyons provided a 3-1 lead with 15:30 to play and Renehan added her second goal in the closing minutes.

“I felt our senior group did a good job of settling the entire team and we really got a hold of the game in the first half when we needed to,” Glenelg coach Dean Sheridan said. “And, second, I think we have a few freshmen that are gamers. We wouldn’t have won without them.”

In addition to Renehan, the Gladiators got strong efforts from fellow freshman Emily Taylor and Taylor Zucco on defense, along with Kathleen Mensing up front.