Coach in no mood to talk

Hamlet Nalbandyan

Mike Marcos said it was the worst match his Burroughs High girls’

soccer team had played all year.

And that’s about all the coach said after Wednesday’s nonleague

contest at Glendale, thanks to a scrappy Nitro team that frustrated

the Indians all afternoon.

Marcos left Moyse Field with a bitter taste in the mouth -- which

apparently prohibited him from commenting about the match -- as a

previously winless Glendale squad managed a 2-2 tie against his

team.

Burroughs (3-3-2) outshot the Nitros (0-8-1), 24-2, but Coach Bob

Francis’ squad made its two chances count.

Senior Susie Francis had both opportunities and not only beat

Burroughs goalkeeper Justine McCabe on both tries, but the forward

managed to dismantle a rock-solid Indian defensive unit, thanks to

her nifty footwork.

“Burroughs is real physical, but we worked really hard today,” Bob

Francis said.

“We’re still on that learning curve, and we’ve got a long ways to

go, but we’re finally starting to get healthy.”

It’s been a rough for Glendale in the early going. Not only have

the Nitros lost matches, but they’ve lost many of their top players.

Junior Jamie Spillman has been bothered by nagging back pain, and

she didn’t make her return until Wednesday’s match, where she saw

limited action.

Sweeper Heather Francis, an All-Area second-team selection last

season, played in just her fifth match of the season because of

various injuries.

Couple that with the fact Glendale has 11 underclassmen on its

roster -- including three freshmen and three sophomores -- and the

slow start is really no surprise.

It’s the complete opposite scenario, however, for Burroughs.

Marcos’ team has plenty of leadership, thanks to nine seniors,

including All-Area first-teamer Gabriella Pedone, but the Indians

fell short of expectations Wednesday.

After Susie Francis gave Glendale the lead in the 10th minute, the Indians came back a minute later, thanks to a header by Rebecca

Sagory.

However, despite numerous chances, Burroughs couldn’t get the

lead, and a goal just before halftime had the Indians trailing again.

Pedone changed all that in the 59th minute, thanks to a pretty

left-footed effort that puzzled sophomore goalkeeper Jessica Kang.

However, the Indians couldn’t beat Kang after that, mostly because

they had trouble locating the net. Of its 24 shots, eight were on

goal.