It took the Burroughs High boys’ soccer team a while to get going.
But once the Indians got going they were not going to be beat, winning 3-0 on the road against Glendale High Friday in a Pacific League contest.
“We changed the formation in the second half and it worked because we scored three goals,” Burroughs attacking midfielder Esteban Alcantar said. “The goals come with time. We just had to regroup.”
Burroughs (4-2 overall, 2-0 in league) scored all three of its goals in the second half, two of which were scored by Alcantar.
The senior got Burroughs on the board in the 48th minute when he curled a free kick inside the left post.
“It was all technique,” Alcantar said. “It is something I’ve been practicing since eighth grade.”
Burroughs coach Mike Kodama was glad the second-half changes he made paid off.
“We have so many guys returning. In the second half I inserted Patrick (Abarca) and the ball really started to move and it allowed Esteban and Manny (Gonzalez) and guys to move off the ball,” he said. “That was big for us.”
Another switch at halftime was inserting freshman Wilson Harting as a center back alongside senior Luis Cortes and junior Carter Wells in a 3-5-2 formation. The trio helped preserve a shutout for goalie Alfredo Tejada.
Burroughs nearly scored again in the 56th on a give and go between Alcantar and Carlos Rosales resulted in Alcantar hitting a curling shot against the right post.
Sam Hawksworth nearly put in the rebound, only to have it snatched away on the goal line by a Glendale defender.
Burroughs doubled its lead in the 69th minute when Rosales lofted a pass to Gonzalez, who was able to beat Glendale goalie Hrak Tahmasian in a foot race for the loose ball and put the ball into the empty net.
The Indians went up 3-0 in the 73rd minute when a cross by Gonzalez from the right side found Alcantar, who finished it off by getting it past Tahmasian.
Glendale fell to 3-2-1 overall and 1-1 in league.
Burroughs will host Crescenta Valley on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. in what could be a key match in the race for the Pacific League title.
