The league leading Troy Lady Warriors took a big step towards winning their third straight Freeway League title after defeating rivals Sunny Hills 3-0.

The first half for the most part was void of clear goal scoring chances for either team.

Sunny Hills (14-3-4, 3-1-2) tested Troy’s goalkeeper few times in the first half due to dominant defense by the Lady Warriors (13-3-4, 5-0-1).

Virtually every Sunny Hills cross attempt in the Lady Warriors final third was either cleared or intercepted by a Troy defender consistently throughout the half .

Though the Lady Lancers, who on several occasions struggled to pass accurately in Troy territory, managed some shots in the half they were almost never near Troys goal and almost always wide or over the goal if not blocked by a defender.

The most clear goal scoring chance of the first half belonged to the Lady Warriors.

In the opening half hour of the game Midfielder Megan Balderas received the ball near center midfield and proceeded to dribble through the through Sunny Hills midfielders and defenders.

After making her way past the heart of the Lady Lancers defense, Balderas made her way into the penalty box and had only Sunny Hills goalkeeper Monica Balos to beat.

Despite a dive by Balos, Balderas strike went past her and into the corner of the goal to make it 1-0 for Troy.

The Lady Lancers did not have as clear of an opportunity to score, but came close to equalizing in the first half off a set piece.

A free kick sent into the Lady Warriors penalty box was not retrieved by Troy Goalkeeper Sara Valencia who jumped to catch the ball and missed, and was instead headed by a Sunny Hills player.

In what was one of Sunny Hills few shots in the penalty box, the header went a few feet wide of the Lady Warriors goal.

The second half of the rivalry match was a repeat of the first in terms of the Lady Warriors defensive efforts.

Troy defenders and midfielders continued to make the Lady Lancers offense ineffective by keeping Lady Lancer crosses out of the penalty box, stealing the ball in many instances, and allowing few shots from near the penalty box.

After the opening minutes of the second half, the game was predominantly played in Lady Lancer territory.

Shots from inside and outside the penalty box by The Lady Warriors forced Balos to make several saves in the half to keep the Lady Lancers close.

Sunny Hills attempted to make chances of their own through playing long passes to their forwards in Lady Warrior territory, but many of the passes more often than not ended up going too far or wide and ended up back in Troys possession.

The Lady Lancers had trouble keeping the ball in their half of the field as well.

In what became somewhat of a pattern in the game Sunny Hills struggled to keep possession from goal kicks.

Troy on more than a few occasions would win the ball off Sunny Hills goal kicks and create scoring chances from them.

One such play led to the scoreboard changing once more.

The Lady Warriors doubled their lead after a goal kick by Balos was intercepted by forward Brianna Diaz near the top of the penalty box.

Diaz Proceeded to dribble into the box and send a strike past a diving Balos into the net.

Troy did not cease possession after going up by two and added another to secure their rivalry win.

A breakaway dribble by senior midfielder Kristen Chong which originated in Troys final third culminated in Chong passing it to a wide open Balderas in the Lady Lancers final third.

An unchallenged Balderas dribbled into the penalty box and sent a strike past a diving Balos, who had come off her line, to make it 3-0 and end any comeback hopes.

“After you suffer a big loss the most important thing is you gotta stick together, be loyal to one another, and keep the dream alive,” said Sunny Hills head coach Jeff Gordon.

“It’s always a great rivalry between the two schools,” said Troy Head Coach Michael Silzer, and added that the team and coaches will “cherish” the victory.

The loss is the Lady Lancers first in Freeway League play and means they stay in second behind first placed Troy, who remain undefeated in League play, in the standings.

Sunny Hills will seek to stay in title contention when they visit Sonora High School on Thursday to face the Raiders while Troy will look to remain undefeated in their next game at Fullerton High School on Thursday.