Burroughs High boys’ soccer turns back Glendale late
BURBANK — After several end-to-end rushes by the Burroughs High and Glendale boys’ soccer teams in the second half of a Pacific League contest, it took a short run in the closing moments by Milosh Petko to break a deadlocked contest.
Petko, a Burroughs forward took a nice pass from VJ Salazar and scored the winning goal with seven minutes left to give host Burroughs a 1-0 victory Friday at Memorial Field.
PHOTOS: Burroughs vs. Glendale boys soccer
Burroughs, which won the league championship last season before advancing to the CIF Southern Section Division III quarterfinals, improved to 7-2-1, 2-0 in league. Glendale, ranked fifth in the latest Division III poll, dropped to 6-5-1, 0-2.
“It’s a play VJ and I work on in practice a lot,” said Petko, a senior who has scored three goals in two league matches. “He just gave me a beautiful ball and all I had to do was finish it off.
“Glendale has a great reputation and they are a very good team. Both of these teams had a good chance to win, but we were able to come out on top.”
The Indians, who began league Tuesday with a 4-0 road victory against Hoover, and the Nitros exchanged excellent scoring chances in the final 20 minutes.
Glendale’s Artiom Ambartsoumian bounced a 20-yard shot flush off the left post following a rush in the 61st minute. Burroughs’ Nolberto Alcantar raced down the middle and was then stopped inside the box by Glendale goalkeeper Ervin Vartoomian with about 13 minutes left.
Burroughs Coach Mike Kodama, the reigning All-Area Boys’ Soccer Coach of the Year, said he expected a stiff test from Glendale.
“They are a much better team because they don’t quit and they play well,” said Kodama, who received six saves from goalkeeper Alberto Meir. “The big thing for us is that we knew what we needed to do.
“You get VJ, who just made a great pass to Milosh. Milosh understands how to get to the net and he was at the right place at the right time.”
Glendale second-year Coach Artur Aghasyan, whose team started league Tuesday with a 5-3 road defeat against Crescenta Valley after capturing the La Cañada High Tournament on Dec. 30, said the Nitros couldn’t capitalize on their scoring opportunities.
“Right now, it’s a step-by-step process,” said Aghasyan, who got six saves from Vartoomian. “We don’t have that guy who is hungry to score and we need to find him quickly.
“It was hard for us to find the gaps to get behind the defenders. Burroughs has got a great team.”
Glendale’s best scoring chance in the first half came when Avo Haroutunyan lined a shot just over the crossbar in the 26th minute.
The Indians and Nitros will meet against at 3:30 p.m. Jan. 31 at Glendale’s Moyse Field.
Burroughs and Glendale will next compete in league matches Monday. The Indians will take on host Crescenta Valley at 3:15 p.m. in a huge first-place showdown and Glendale will meet visiting Pasadena at 3:30.
