By Rick Assad
Three different players scored goals and two goalies left with clean gloves which helped propel the Burroughs High girls’ soccer team to a 4-0 win over Glendale in a Pacific League match at Memorial Field on Tuesday afternoon.
Megan Schmidt tallied two goals, while junior midfielder Kelani Roy and junior midfielder Julia Narmore each kicked in one to lead the way for the Bears’ offense.
The Nitros (2-3-1 and 0-2 in league) didn’t get off a shot on goal as senior goaltender Kaylin Casper, who played the first half and junior goalie Layla Hoyo, who toiled in the second half, had an easy time of it.
Burroughs dominated the action on the pitch because the defenders, midfielders and forwards all kept Glendale in its own end of the field for the majority of the time and rarely allowed the Nitros to enter the Bears’ territory which nullified any chance to score and will be a key factor in games against the best teams in the league.
Schmidt’s initial goal from 15 yards came in the ninth minute and made it 1-0 and Schmidt then added a 12-yarder in the 44th minute for a 3-0 cushion.
“I’m really happy that I scored those goals. Normally I do score within the games and I’m really skilled and I love that I am able to do that. I’m really proud of my players and especially when we made a couple of plays down the line,” said Schmidt, a senior midfielder. “It was really good through and through and it set up a lot of good balls and a lot of good shots.”
As a senior, Schmidt is one of the leaders on the field and is something she likes.
“I’m someone that my teammates can rely on and I can rely on my teammates as well because they have my back no matter what,” she said.
When Roy nailed one from 18 yards in the 21st minute, the advantage swelled to 2-0.
Narmore’s 30-yard penalty kick in the 60th minute capped off the scoring and made it 4-0 for the Bears (2-1 and 2-0 in league).
“I think we’re playing the type of soccer we want to play. It’s a learning process. We’ve got a lot of young players on this team. I’ve got two freshmen on varsity right now registering a lot of minutes,” Burroughs coach Brady Riggs said. “It’s nice to see us move the ball like we want to and play the type of soccer that we need to play if we’re going to punch above our weight and deal with Arcadia and Crescenta Valley. We’ve gotta play good soccer. Those are the tough ones. If we keep doing what we’re doing and move the ball we’re going to have success.”
Riggs then praised the defense which will be a key to any success the team will enjoy.
“As far as no shots on goal, that’s a testament to our defense,” he noted. “They did really, really well. We’re limiting some of the mistakes we made earlier.”
The match began with Narmore’s 27-yarder missing the mark in the fourth minute and Schmidt then launching one from 28 yards in the eighth minute.
A 25-yard penalty kick by Narmore in the 14th minute failed and Roy’s 27-yarder sailed wide right in the 18th minute.
Roy had the next two kicks and they included a five-yard boot in the 19th minute and a 25-yarder in the 20th minute that was too high.
Now it was Schmidt’s turn to try and kick the ball into the net as she hammered an 18-yarder in the 26th minute and a 20-yarder in the 33rd minute, followed by a 28-yarder that drifted wide right in the 35th minute.
Aside from Schmidt’s early tally in the second half, Narmore added a 32-yard penalty kick in the 46th minute and Schmidt’s 27-yarder in the 48th minute sailed too high.
Roy’s 18-yarder in the 50th minute didn’t find the mark and four minutes later a 20-yard blast from sophomore forward Graciela Gomez also failed. In the 56th minute, Roy’s 27-yarder was off target.
Junior forward Sofia Samuelson’s 27-yarder in the 75th minute drifted wide and was the last shot on goal.
