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.