Burroughs boys’ soccer falters against Pasadena in second half
PASADENA — It was an afternoon of lost traction in regards to the Pacific League boys’ soccer title chase for Burroughs High.
The visiting Indians surrendered two second-half goals to reigning league champion Pasadena and were at times overmatched in a 3-0 victory for the Bulldogs in Pacific League play Friday afternoon.
With the win, Burroughs dropped 10-6-2 overall and 6-3-1 in league, while first-place Pasadena swept the season series and improved to 12-1-2 overall and 8-1-1 in league.
“I thought we were right with Pasadena down, 1-0, at halftime,” said Burroughs Coach Michael Kodama, whose team was bested by Pasadena, 3-1, on Jan. 8. “Then they get that second goal in the second half and the game started to unravel.”
The tone of the contest changed in the 66th minute when Pasadena freshman Vicente Tinoco stole possession near the opponent’s bench and raced unabated into a one-on-one chance with Burroughs keeper Jordan Morgan.
While Morgan made a punch save, one his 11 for the day, on a shot on goal from point blank, Morgan was pushed backward to the ground while the shot rebounded near Tinoco.
The freshman calmly tapped in a 10-yard shot to give Pasadena a 2-0 advantage.
To add to that, all hope of a Burroughs’ comeback was dashed in the 77th minute on the Bulldogs’ third goal, which came off a set piece.
For the second time in the contest, Pasadena played the corner kick short from Jason Bautista to Manuel Casillas, who crossed into the box to junior Luca Veca, who delivered a brilliant 15-yard header far post to give Pasadena a 3-0 advantage.
“Burroughs is a good team, no question about that,” Pasadena Coach Cherif Zein said, “but I read something where they said they were going to make their push in the second half of the season. That’s not happening here at Pasadena. We don’t lose at home.”
A first half that could have been disastrous for Burroughs only ended with the Indians trailing, 1-0.
Pasadena scored in the 20th minute off a corner kick and some deception from Bautista and Angel Estrada.
Bautista booted the corner kick short to Estrada, who immediately ran away from the net and toward the center of the field as the senior pretended to lose possession.
With Burroughs’ defense rushing down on Bautista, the Bulldogs attacker suddenly passed the ball back to Estrada with the back of his heel past a few Indians. Estrada took possession and fired a 15-yard shot off a defender and in for the game’s first score.
“I really didn’t think that type of play would work,” Zein said. “We practiced it in practice and messed it up two times. We tried it in a game and it didn’t work. We took one more chance against Burroughs, the next best team in league, and it worked.”
The goal came on one of 12 shots for the Bulldogs in the first half, with several attempts just missing.
While Burroughs was limited to four shots in the first half and six overall, they nearly equalized on two similar tries.
Junior defender Erik Camarillo ripped a 35-yard direct kick in the 23rd minute that rattled off the cross and was batted out of play.
In the 30th minute, junior Diego Galaviz also had a near spectacular goal when a 25-yard free kick also clanked off the top of the post.
“Yes, there were things that we could have done better, but we have to more forward,” Kodama said. “This league is so tight and you can’t really dwell on losses. You just have to go forward and get ready for the next game, which for us is against Muir.”
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Andrew J. Campa, andrew.campa@latimes.com
Twitter: @campadresports
