A sluggish beginning was shoved aside by the Burroughs High girls’ soccer team in its nonleague match against Louisville on Tuesday at Memorial Field.
After falling behind by a goal, the Indians scored the next four including three in the second half over a span of 10 minutes that helped propel the Indians to a 4-1 victory over the Royals.
“They definitely were playing faster,” Burroughs coach Brady Riggs said of the second half. “Which is what we want them to do. We talked about it at halftime. We came out in the second half just moving the ball quicker. Not holding on to it too long. We connected balls better. We had better rhythm. Overall they just played better in the second half.”
Riggs also summarized his philosophy on how to play the game. “We’re trying to keep the ball the whole game,” he said. “When we have it, they can’t score. The more we have it, the better things happen for us.”
The scoring rampage began in the 63rd minute when senior forward Catrina Villalpando knocked in a 20-yard shot that made it 2-1.
Eight minutes later, the lead swelled to 3-1 when senior defender Anna Kasper scored on a 35-yard free kick from the right sideline.
The tally was a thing of beauty as Kasper’s kick left the ground and rose about 15 feet into the air and then curved into the lower portion of the net.
In the 73rd minute, sophomore defender Orla Giffen found the back of the net on a 15-yard blast that made it 4-1.
Brady said that the Royals are a quality team and will help the Indians prepare for the upcoming Pacific League portion of their schedule.
“Louisville is a good team,” he said. “We’ve had good games with them in the past. We expected to have a good game today with them and not just walk through anybody.”
Riggs added: “They definitely had the lead,” he said. “So it’s always great when your team gets down when they come back. The three times we’ve been down this year we’ve come back every game and at least tied it or taken the lead.”
The Royals (2-2) took a 1-0 advantage on sophomore Olivia Wright’s 20-yard breakaway in the 26th minute against senior goalie Samantha Martinez, who had a shutout the rest of the game.
The Indians tied it at 1-1 two minutes later when sophomore forward Trinity Vournas hammered in a 15-yarder.
The Indians (4-1-1) dominated the early action of the first half after collecting three shots on goal.
Sophomore defender Ava Kramer had a 10-yarder in the second minute followed by a 15-yarder from junior midfielder and captain Abbie Riggs in the third minute.
A minute later, sophomore midfielder Olivia Cashman delivered a corner kick that hit the top bar of the net.
The Royals responded with a pair of shots that included Wright’s corner kick in the 11th minute and junior Keara Skeries’ 30-yard smash in the 13th minute.
The next three shots belonged to the Indians as Cashman had a 20-yarder in the 14th minute, a 25-yarder in the 15th minute and Riggs’ 20-yarder in the 17th minute.
Louisville sophomore Lila Dubois had a 15-yarder in the 19th minute, but senior midfielder and captain Maddy Sena delivered a 30-yarder in the 21st minute for the Indians.
The Indians had the final four attempts of the half including Sena’s 30-yarder in the 27th minute, Kasper’s 15-yarder in the 32nd minute and junior forward Megan Rangel-Lynch’s five-yarder in the 36th minute.
Burroughs, which outshot Louisville 11-4 in the opening half, outshot the Royals 13-4 in the second half that included three attempts from Riggs, who had a 20-yarder in the 46th minute, a 30-yarder that sailed wide right in the 57th minute and a 15-yarder in the 62nd minute.
Villalpando, in addition to her tally, added a 20-yarder in front of the net in the 55th minute that was blocked by the goalie, while Cashman had a 35-yarder in the 58th minute that sailed wide right and a 30-yarder in the 61st minute.
