Second half slays Burroughs boys’ soccer’s title hopes
EAST LOS ANGELES — Aspirations of a run to the CIF Southern Section championship match ended Saturday afternoon for the Burroughs High boys’ soccer team.
The No. 6-ranked Indians surrendered three second-half goals, while their offense struggled to get in sync in a 3-0 loss to No. 3-seeded host Salesian in the Division III quarterfinals.
Burroughs capped its season with a 19-5-4 record, the squad’s first Pacific League championship in three seasons and two postseason wins. Saturday’s loss marked only the third time this season that Burroughs was shut out.
“We’ve been doing this all year long,” Burroughs Coach Mike Kodama said when asked about the prospect of having to make a second-half rally. “We’ve had a lot of games where we’ve had to come from behind. So, it is extremely difficult to keep your composure and keep going and we were still playing for those opportunities that are there.”
Salesian sophomore Anthony Solares helped open up the contest for the Del Rey League runner-up Mustangs (17-5-3) as he tallied a goal and an assist.
The contest was scoreless at the half, but didn’t stay that way long into the second stanza.
Salesian senior Moises Membreno led an attack along the left sideline when the midfielder blew by his defender and beautifully crossed to Solares, who easily one-timed a 12-yard goal in the 44th minute to give Salesian a 1-0 lead.
With his team trailing, Kodama switched his formation, moved players forward and hoped for more offense. Unfortunately for Burroughs, an increased presence up front led to opportunities for Salesian.
“They got the first goal and that forced us to open up and we tried to send more numbers forward,” Burroughs senior defender Richard Alonzo said, “and we got punished for it.”
In the 68th minute, a through ball from Solares found streaking junior Alex Barrera, who scored far post past diving Burroughs goalie Jordan Morgan (six saves). The goal put Salesian up, 2-0.
Lastly, the Mustangs showed off some fancy footwork when junior Abraham Reyes laced a 15-yard left-to-right shot into the corner of the net in the 78th minute to put the home team ahead, 3-0.
“I felt like we kind of dropped our heads after we got scored on,” Burroughs senior midfielder Jake Lasso-Spell said. “We didn’t work as hard as I think we could have after. It could have been a lot different if we just finished our first chance and kept going at it.”
Salesian out shot Burroughs, 17-6, and generated several near scores.
On the flip side, the Indians pressed for most of the second half and frequently pushed into the attacking third only to often come away without a shot for several reasons, including spacing and errant passes.
Ultimately, the Indians finished with two shots on goal.
“We read a lot about Burroughs and knew they were a second-half team, so we knew we had to play the same kind of soccer in the second half,” Salesian Coach Mark Johnson said. “I want to praise Burroughs. They had a great season and they really came down here and gave us our best test yet in the playoffs.”
