Strides made by Nitros

SOUTHEAST GLENDALE — For starters, it turned out to be a better beginning.

That proved to be evident for the members of the Glendale High girls’ soccer team, which opened their season Tuesday afternoon with a 5-2 nonleague loss to La Cañada.

The Nitros were aggressive and showed some cohesion during the first match under Coach Dino Barbiera. Unfortunately for Glendale, it had no answer in stopping La Cañada scoring wizard Nancy Avesyan.

Avesyan, a senior forward, scored all five goals for the Spartans (1-0). She scored the match-winning goal on a penalty shot in the 57th minute to snap a 2-2 deadlock. Avesyan, an All-Area first-team member last season, has scored 11 goals in her last three meetings against Glendale.

Though they couldn’t contain Avesyan, who scored four goals in a 10-0 win in 2005 and two more in a 4-2 victory last year, the Nitros did a few good things against the experienced Spartans.

That gave Barbiera, who succeeded Kristine Lowe, reason for optimism while given the responsibility of turning around the program.

“Our [lineup] combinations are a lot better now,” said Barbiera, who got one goal apiece from Sarah Mizuki and Sharis Harootun. “Our confidence is getting there, and it’s just a case of them figuring out that they can do it.

“We just didn’t finish. We need to work on some basic things on defense. Our [defensive] marking was a little loose.”

Most teams have difficulty marking Avesyan, who has a lethal shot and speed. The Nitros learned right away when Avesyan beat Glendale goalkeeper Esther Rodriguez on a low shot in the second minute to begin the scoring.

Suzuki knotted the contest at 1 in the 11th minute before Avesyan made it 2-1 in the 33rd minute. Harootun tied the match at 2 in the 52nd minute on a shot that eluded La Cañada senior goalkeeper Colleen Boyd.

Then, the climatic moment of the match came in the 57th minute with Avesyan taking charge once again.

Avesyan secured a loose ball just outside of the penalty box before darting toward Rodriguez, who finished with nine saves. Rodriguez had no choice but to trip Avesyan inside the box, prompting the referee to award Avesyan a penalty kick.

Avesyan clearly beat Rodriguez on a low shot to make it 3-2. She later closed out her scoring barrage with goals in the 65th and 66th minutes.

Barbiera, a former member of the Glendale Community College men’s soccer program, said Rodriguez made the right decision, despite being out of position briefly.

“She did the right thing taking her down,” Barbiera said. “Next time, you want to come out with your hands rather than your feet.”

In the meantime, Barbiera said the Nitros can absorb what they learned and apply it toward their next nonleague contest against visiting Gabrielino at 3:15 p.m. Dec. 6.

“We have to learn the tendencies of other players,” Barbiera said. “We did a lot of good things.

“I’m not worried. From a ball-possession standpoint, we’ve got do do a little better job of trying to make that fourth and fifth pass.”

?CHARLES RICH covers sports. He can be reached at (818) 637-3228 or charles.rich@latimes.com.