Burbank’s Guerrero honored with All-CIF first-team award in girls’ soccer

There was little debate about how much Clarissa Guerrero’s presence on the soccer field benefited the Burbank High girls’ team this past season.

“Anyone who watched our team play could see how important a player Clarissa was for us,” said Burbank Coach Eric Montoya about the senior forward. “Just the things she could do in the field were pretty amazing, and it was fun do watch her. I know we wouldn’t have been as successful as we were without Clarissa.”

In the roles of both goal-scorer and facilitator, Guerrero enjoyed a wealth of success during her senior campaign. For her efforts, Guerrero was named to the CIF Southern Section Division III first team when the first-team recipients from all seven divisions were released by the Southern Section Office on Monday.

With Guerrero leading the way, Burbank enjoyed a successful season. The Bulldogs went 12-5-1 and placed second in the Pacific League behind champion Arcadia with a 10-3-1 record.

Proving her worth as an offensive weapon as well as a facilitator, Guerrero, who was also named the Pacific League co-Player of the Year, tallied 22 goals to go along with 14 assists.

Guerrero, who was a starter all four of her years with the Bulldogs, said she didn’t go into her senior season looking to win awards.

“I feel that in all the four years, I just tried my hardest and I just tried to give all that I could on the field,” she said. “I wasn’t expecting to win any awards, but to be able to win something for all of my hard work is nice.

“I really wanted to play well my senior season, and the team really wanted to step it up this year as well. We had a lot of seniors on the team this year and I know they didn’t want to go out in a bad way. I feel all the girls contributed to us having a good season this year.”

Guerrero said although she enjoyed scoring goals this season, she also took pride in setting up teammates with assists.

“I feel without the person setting up the goal a lot of goals wouldn’t be scored,” she said. “Sometimes the assist is just as important as the goal that is scored. It’s really nice to be able to make a nice pass or give the ball to someone and they score a goal.”

Those skills weren’t lost on Montoya.

“Her sense for the ball, along with her work ethic, is what makes her a special player,” he said. “She works hard and she trains hard and she just has this passion for the game. She is also very coachable and she’s a leader. All in all, she is just the complete package.

“And for her to win All-CIF, it just shows that hard work pays off.”