By Rick Assad
One goal in the opening half was a decent advantage for the Burroughs High boys’ soccer team, but when two more tallies were added in the second 40-minute session, it proved too much for Burbank in a Pacific League match on Friday afternoon.
Twenty-six minutes into the encounter at Memorial Field, senior Joseph Earl struck from 23 yards to make it 1-0.
In the 47th minute, the Bears were at it again as junior Alexander Loera located the back of the net on a penalty kick from 18 yards for a 2-0 cushion and the icing on the cake came in the 65th minute when junior Danny Pascual nailed a booming 27-yard kick from the left side that put Burroughs ahead 3-0.
“Overall, it was a good performance. We kept our head in the game, and we were very sharp to finish chances in the attacking third,” Burroughs coach Makan Afzali said of his squad. “Our defense played a good game as well, which was the key to this victory.”
It’s not that the Bulldogs (6-4-4 and 2-3-3 in league) played poorly, rather it was that the Bears (5-5 and 4-4 in league) proved more patient and ready when the opportunity presented itself.
“It was a bad day at the office. Nothing seemed to go our way,” Burbank director of soccer Johnny Rotunno said of the close match after the first half. “Burroughs played well. I felt like the second goal from the penalty shot took away our momentum.”
In fact, the match began with Burbank getting off the first three kicks and they were from sophomore striker Raymond Soukiazian, who hammered a 37-yarder in the first minute, junior center midfielder David Agababian, who smashed a corner kick in the fifth minute and junior right back Andre Zargaryan from 38 yards in the 10th minute.
The Bears collected back-to-back attempts and they came from Pascual in the 11th minute on a 45-yard free kick and sophomore Jackson Palmer on a corner kick in the 12th minute.
Burbank sophomore striker Aram Hovanessian broke the streak when he added a 37-yarder in the 13th minute.
Loera’s 15-yard boot in the 17th minute was followed by a 28-yarder in the 19th minute from Palmer.
Three minutes later, a 43-yarder from Burbank junior center back Raffi Harutyunyan was off the mark.
In the 26th minute, Pascual added a corner kick that didn’t connect while Burbank junior center defensive midfielder Rigo Garcia tossed in a 32-yard free kick in the 32nd minute and Hovanessian kicked a 27-yarder in the 33rd minute.
Pascual closed out the first 40-minute session with a 38-yarder in the 39th minute.
The Bulldogs had the first kick of the second half, and it came in the 42nd minute when senior center attacking midfielder George Atallah drilled a 42-yarder.
After a Bears’ score, Burbank had six consecutive kicks as they were by Agababian in the 48th minute from 27 yards, junior striker Erik Antanesyan in the 56th minute on a 25-yarder, Soukiazian in the 56th minute on a 23-yarder, Atallah from 25 yards in the 57th minute, Antanesyan’s 15-yard header in the 59th minute and Antanesyan’s 25-yard header in the 62nd minute.
The Bears then ripped off four consecutive kicks including a goal while the non-scoring kicks came from Loera from 25 yards in the 67th minute, senior Brandon Moscoso from 38 yards in the 70th minute and senior Dominic Quijada in the 72nd minute from 32 yards.
Two minutes later, Burbank senior midfielder/forward Samvel Avetisyan picked up a 23-yarder in the 74th minute.
