Burroughs finally gets its offense rolling, 2-1

Jeff Tully

In their first three Foothill League matches this season, the

Burbank and Burroughs high boys’ soccer teams have had trouble

scoring goals.

Coming into Tuesday’s cross-town rivalry match at Luther Burbank

Middle School, the Indians and Bulldogs had tallied just one goal

between them -- while giving up 18 -- in league play.

However, that changed in the first 30 minutes of their contest,

as the teams combined for three goals in Burroughs’ 2-1 victory.

“We weren’t that concerned that we hadn’t won a league game yet

coming into this game,” Burbank senior defender Matt Welch said. “We

know we play in a tough league and we know we have a lot of talent on

this team.

“Hopefully, this win will help us get rolling and we can win some

more in league.”

Disappointed by his team’s first three league outings, Burbank

Coach Mike Bailie said he was pleased with the way his squad

responded against its rivals.

“This was a dogfight,” said Bailie, whose team is 7-8-3, 0-4 in

league.

“[Burroughs] had a lot of chances, and we had our chances too. All

I can ask is that we stay in a position to win the game, and we did

that today.”

Burroughs (8-7-2, 1-2-1) Coach Mike Kodama said his team’s focus

was to begin the match strongly and put the Bulldogs on the defensive

early.

“We wanted to get to them early and hopefully put them back on

their heels in the first 15 minutes,” he said. “I think we came out

aggressively and I think that helped us.”

The Indians, which outshot the Bulldogs, 14-7, scored in the

fourth minute to get things started. Marco Gomez got control of a

loose ball in front of the Burbank goal and rifled a shot that

Bulldog goaltender Rigo Maya couldn’t stop. Welch and Chris Leiva

assisted on the goal.

Twenty-two minutes later, the Bulldogs responded with a goal to

tie the score at 1, as Jeff Ruiz tallied the score.

Burroughs dominated play in the first half and Burbank’s goal came

on one of the team’s few first-half chances.

Burroughs didn’t let the Bulldogs have the lead for long, as it

scored in the 29th minute. Michael Barbic found the net after an

assist from Raul Medina.

“I thought Raul Medina played a very good game, along with

[freshman midfielder] Spencer [Ross] and our two defensive

midfielders, Dimitri Albera and Robert De Leon,” Kodama said.

Indian freshman goaltender Kevin Cardenas also played well,

stopping six shots.

Burbank’s Maya had seven saves.

The Bulldogs’ best chance to tie the score came in the 75th

minute. Eriberto Cosio found his way into the box and delivered a

header, however, the offering sailed wide left.

“All of our defenders but one are sophomores,” Bailie said. “So we

know we are rebuilding this season and we are going to get better. We

just have to be patient.”