Burroughs not at its best, 2-0

Jeff Tully

Maybe the summer-like January day -- with temperatures in the

mid-80s -- helped distract the Burroughs High boys’ soccer players.

Or maybe their minds were elsewhere, with just one day remaining

on their two-week holiday break.

Whatever the reason, the Indians weren’t at their best Saturday

against Brea Olinda, as Burroughs suffered a 2-0 loss at Luther

Burbank Middle School.

“This is not they way we want to play, especially with league

coming up,” said Burroughs Coach Mike Kodama, whose team is 7-5-1.

“We made some mistakes and they capitalized on them. That’s what the

[match] came down to.

“But after having a bad first half, I thought we came back in the

second half and played a lot better.”

With the Indians beginning Foothill League play at 3:15 p.m.

Friday at Hart, Kodama wanted to schedule a tough opponent late in

the nonleague season to see how this team would respond.

Brea Olinda fit the bill perfectly. Not only are the Wildcats

(6-0-3) undefeated, but they are ranked No. 8 in CIF Southern Section

Division II and No. 22 in the nation by Student Sports Magazine.

The squad has also played some quality competition, tying La

Puente Nogales (3-3) -- No. 2 in Division III -- and Irvine

Woodbridge (0-0) -- No. 3 in Division II.

“We want to play outstanding programs like Brea Olinda,” Kodama

said. “These are the kinds of matches that we can learn from.”

The Wildcats got all the offense they needed in the first 28

minutes, as they struck for both of their goals. However, Brea Olinda

was helped by mistakes from the Burroughs defense, which resulted in

both scores.

In the 25th minute, the Burroughs defense failed to clear the ball

and Brea Olinda’s Rommel Rios found himself with a breakaway. Indian

freshman goaltender Kevin Cardenas came out to cut down the angle and

made a fine play on Rios’ attempt. However, the ball caromed to

Wildcat Mike Sanchez, who was able to score.

Brea Olinda’s Derek Bech added a goal in the 28th minute when the

Indians were again unable to get the ball out of their zone.

Cardenas was under a constant barrage in the first half, as he

tallied five saves.