Second-half flurry leads Crescenta Valley girls’ soccer by Burroughs
LA CRESCENTA — For about 55 minutes, the Crescenta Valley High and Burroughs girls’ soccer teams were locked in a scoreless match that appeared destined to become a late thriller.
Yet, the contest produced neither a last-second winner nor a draw, as the host Falcons took control of the final 20-plus minutes to win handily, 4-0, in Pacific League play Tuesday afternoon.
With the victory, Crescenta Valley improved to 12-2 and remained unblemished in league at 7-0 heading into Friday’s showdown versus defending league champion Arcadia (12-3-1, 7-0).
The only team that has challenged Arcadia in league so far this season is Burroughs, which dropped to 9-5-1 and 5-2. The Apaches defeated the Indians, 2-1, in Burbank on Jan. 6.
“This team battles and I’ve seen them time and time again step up for big games and get the job done,” Crescenta Valley Coach Tyraysha Peterson said of her Falcons. “You can never be super confident in soccer, because teams can lose games where they’ve out-played other teams, but I was confident that as long as the girls kept fighting, they’d find a way to win.”
Crescenta Valley out shot Burroughs, 16-7, but didn’t have anything to show for it until sophomore Brianna McReynolds and senior Sierra Lindman Marshall broke through.
Each player finished with two goals with McReynolds registering her team’s first tally in the 57th minute.
Crescenta Valley’s Angel Ramos led a counter-attack when the senior stole possession inside the Falcons’ 18-yard line and quickly pushed the ball the other way.
Ramos passed near midfield to a streaking McReynolds, who beat what had been a solid Burroughs defense with a 16-yard goal to put the visitors ahead, 1-0.
While McReynolds and Crescenta Valley celebrated the goal, the Falcons hardly tapered their offense or defense, for that matter.
Falcons senior Ani Mazmanian sent a deep pass inside the Indians’ penalty area that was out of the range of a cutting McReynolds.
Though a Burroughs defender stole the pass, a head’s-up McReynolds never stopped charging, pressured the player and stole back possession before ripping a six-yard goal that gave the Falcons a 2-0 lead in the 60th minute.
While McReynolds used a combination of speed and hustle to rack up two scores, Lindman Marshall showed off her shooting prowess.
Lindman Marshall took a pass from Nikki Collins and ripped a 12-yard goal off the hands of Burroughs’ goalie for a score to propel the Falcons to a 3-0 lead in the 76th minute.
Lindman Marshall then laced a 10-yard bullet top shelf into the right corner in the 79th minute to put Crescenta Valley ahead, 4-0.
“We saw the Burroughs score against Arcadia and we wanted to beat them as a test for Arcadia,” Lindman Marshall said.
The score came as a disappointment for Burroughs Coach Brady Riggs, whose team had a couple of solid looks in the first half come up short.
“You know what, Crescenta Valley just finished the game off and we didn’t,” said Riggs, whose defense had allowed two goals in six previous league matches. “Crescenta Valley is a good team and we tried to open it up toward the end of the game and when we did, they hurt us. It’s a decision I stand by, because we didn’t come here for a 0-0 tie. We wanted a win.”
