By Rick Assad
In a rivalry match on the pitch between Burbank High and Burroughs, always expect tough and determined play.
So, when these two met in a Pacific League clash at Memorial Field on Tuesday afternoon in a boys’ soccer match, it was close and hard-fought, and in the end the Bulldogs emerged with a 2-1 victory.
The difference was a 23-yarder from sophomore midfielder/fullback/defender Chase Verhoeven in the 69th minute on an assist from junior midfielder/forward Raymond Soukiazian.
Burbank pulled ahead 1-0 on a 25-yard goal from senior midfielder/fullback/defender Andre Zargaryan on a splendid pass from sophomore midfielder/forward/defender Harout Akopyan in the 46th minute.
Not backing down, the Bears evened the match at 1-1 in the 54th minute on a 20-yarder from senior Alexander Loera.
Burbank is coached by Johnny Rotunno, and he was pleased at the final result.
“This is a big win for us. Burroughs always gives us a game. They are organized and well coached,” he said. “It feels good to come out on top.”
Rotunno was proud of his spirited and tough-minded squad.
“I like that our team didn’t give up and kept fighting until the end,” he noted.
The clash began when Loera had his kick blocked in the second minute and in the third minute freshman Ian Major added a corner kick.
Burroughs had three more attempts and they included a boot from sophomore Timur Stakhiv from 25 yards in the third minute, followed by junior Jordan Seas’ 32-yarder in the fifth minute.
Junior Brayden Ghazarian added a 25-yarder in the eighth minute for the Bears.
Sophomore midfielder/forward Joseph Chavez delivered a corner kick in the eighth minute for the Bulldogs and Stakhiv had a 40-yarder in the 12th minute while teammate junior Seven Elkin had a 25-yard attempt in the 15th minute.
Four kicks were next for the Bears as Elkin had a 35-yarder in the 20th minute and Ghazarian added a 25-yarder in the 33rd minute.
Two more kicks from Burroughs (5-10-3 and 1-3-3 in league) followed as Loera tossed in a 30-yard boot in the 36th minute and sophomore Abram MacLean contributed a short header in the 37th minute.
Makan Afzali is the head man for Burroughs and likewise thinks highly of his team.
“We definitely saw that we have what it takes to win. Despite having a younger squad and several new starters, the team played well and worked hard. Unfortunately, we came up just short both today and yesterday against Pasadena – two tough back-to-back games for us. I truly believe we gave it our all.”
Afzali then added: “We created more opportunities, but they capitalized on their chances more effectively,” he said. “Overall, I’m proud of the effort and progress the boys have made this season.”
Burbank (12-4-3 and 3-3-1 in league) capped off the scoreless the first half with two attempts in the extra time as sophomore midfielder/forward/fullback Ashot Grigoryan had a corner kick followed by junior midfielder/defender Victor Chtryan with a 20-yarder.
Seas began the second half with a 28-yard attempt in the 42nd minute and Soukiazian added a 27-yarder in the 47th minute.
Loera had a 37-yard free kick in the 49th minute that was close as it scraped the top of the net.
Zargaryan tossed in a 25-yard blast in the 51st minute for the Bulldogs and freshman midfielder/forward/striker Davit Tadevosyan added a 25-yarder in the 52nd minute. In the 56th minute, Tadevosyan had a 23-yarder that was too high.
Elkin contributed a 20-yarder in the 64th minute, while Akopyan added a 23-yarder in the 64th minute. Akopyan then had a 25-yarder in the 65th minute.
Major’s 20-yarder looked good in the 66th minute and Zargaryan added a 25-yarder that was too high in the 67th minute.
In the 69th minute, Zargaryan’s kick was blocked and Tadevosyan’s 35-yarder in the 71st minute was too high.
Loera had a 27-yarder in the 75th minute and Tadevosyan had three straight kicks including one in the 76th minute from 32 yards and a 25-yarder and a 27-yarder both in extra time.
