A first half goal by defender Victoria Avila helped the Sunny Hills Lady Lancers secure a 2-0 victory over the Sonora Raiders in their first Freeway League game of the season.
The Lady Lancers sought to take the attacking initiative very early on in the game with quick and almost always forward going passes.
The Raiders found themselves consistently on the defensive in their own half due to the Lady Lancers control of the ball and attacking schemes such as long throw ins into Sonoras penalty box.
On most of the occasions Sonora players had the ball at their feet they had little choice but to try to clear it into Lancer territory or send a long ball to a lone forward due to intense pressure from Sunny Hills forwards and midfielders.
Many of the clearances by Sonora defenders and midfielders were consistently recovered at if not before the halfway line by Sunny Hills defenders, who almost immediately sent the ball to a teammate in Raider territory.
The impact of the Lady Lancers offensive intensity started to show when a strike by midfielder Kendall Hart rattled the top post of Sonoras goal, and also through the Lancers rising corner kick count.
The corner kick proved to be a crucial set piece for the Lady Lancers.
A corner kick met by a header by a Sunny Hills player was blocked by a Sonora defender, but the ricochet landed to Avila whose subsequent shot deflected off the inside of the Raiders right post and into the net.
Sonora responded to the Lady Lancers goal by keeping more possession and attempting to build up offensive play through other routes than the long ball.
The Raiders efforts to build up play on the ground rather than the air were largely unsuccessful due to Sunny Hills defenders constantly winning back the ball through interceptions and steals near the halfway line.
Other than a few minutes of play in Sunny Hills half the game went back to being played in Raiders territory where the Lady Lancers came close on multiple occasions to doubling their lead.
The long throw in was a much used offensive tool by the Lady Lancers throughout the game and almost paid dividends when a soaring throw by Kyana Chhoeung was flicked Hart to forward Sierra Chhoeung whose strike went just a few feet over the goal.
Later in the half a cross turned shot by forward Auburn Burnett forced Raiders Goalkeeper Kat Armstrong to stretch out and make a high dive to keep it from going over her head and into the goal.
Not long into the second half Sunny Hills (13-2-2, 1-0) grew their goal tally.
A long throw in made its way through the Sonora defense and was met by forward Sierra Chhoeung by the Raiders goal who slotted the ball in before Armstrong could get to it.
Other than a long ball that was easily grasped by Sunny Hills goalkeeper, the Raiders (8-7-1, 2-1) were unable to come close to equalizing the game when it was 1-0 or cutting the lead in half when it was 2-0.
Just as in the majority of the first half The Lady Lancers kept the game in Raider territory and if not for an Armstrong save of a shot by Hart from very close range would of further widened the scoring gap between the two teams.
“Set plays win games and we’re always excited to get goals on corners and throws,” said Sunny Hills Head Coach Jeff Gordon.
“We gave up way too many set pieces against a team that prides themselves on capitalizing on set piece. So we got work on that clean that up a little bit for our next time we play them,” said Sonora Head Coach Cory Witt.
The Lady Lancers next hit the field on thursday when they visit Buena Park High School to take on the Coyotes while Sonora will look to rebound from the loss when they host the Troy Warriors on Thursday.