Burbank, Burroughs girls’ soccer teams ready to get CIF playoffs started
The Burbank High and Burroughs girls’ soccer teams will both have the opportunity to compete in the CIF Southern Section Division III playoffs, although they will have different starting points.
While the Bulldogs earned a home game for the opening round of the postseason tournament, the Indians will have to hit the road for their first-round contest.
“It is just a blessing to be able to play at home,” said Burbank Coach Eric Montoya, whose squad will begin the playoffs at 3 p.m. Friday against Pacifica. “We have great fans and the parents really come out to support the team. So it’s really nice to be able to start out at home.
“The great thing is that we’ve been very successful at home this year. I think we are something like 8-1-1 at home, so being home is a great thing for us. It’s a nice reward for finishing second in the league.”
Burbank (12-4-1) enters the playoffs after enjoying a successful run in the Pacific League. The Bulldogs finished runner-up in league behind champion Arcadia. Burbank ended the regular season Thursday with a 3-1 victory against cross-town rival Burroughs.
“What’s really great is that we have until Friday before the playoffs start,” Montoya said. “We have been a little banged up, so that will give us a little time to recover and heal. It will also give us some time to work on some things so we’ll be ready for the playoffs.”
The Bulldogs ended the regular season strongly, earning victories in their final five matches. Burbank fell both times to Arcadia this season by identical 2-1 scores.
Burbank will take on a Pacifica (9-10-2) team that finished third in the Empire League. If the Bulldogs make it past the opening round, they could go up against No. 2-seeeded Los Altos (18-2-3), which captured the Hacienda League championship, in the second round.
The same can’t be said about Burroughs (8-10-2), as injuries had the Indians limping into their final stretch of the Pacific League campaign. The Indians finished the regular season going 1-1-5 in their final seven games.
Burroughs, which took fourth in the Pacific League, will have a chance to turn around its fortunes when it will travel to Ventura County to face Oak Park at 3 p.m. Friday in its playoff opener. Oak Park (18-0-4) is the champion of the Tri-Valley League.