For the majority of the opening half of Thursday afternoon’s Pacific League girls’ soccer match between Burbank High and host Burroughs, it was dominated by the Bulldogs.
The second half was a different matter and especially during injury time when junior forward Tatiana Mosdale evened it at 2-2 on a goal from 20 yards against senior goalie Isabella Palau.
“We always need to play our hardest,” Mosdale said of the rivalry between the two schools. “We were all a little nervous. I was very excited. A tie is better than a loss.”
The first time these rivals met, the Bulldogs prevailed 2-1 and had not Mosdale kicked in the tying goal in the regular-season finale, it would have been another setback for the Indians.
Up to that point, Burbank, which finished fourth in league, held a one-goal lead on the strength of two first-half tallies from senior forward Kira Bochard.
Bochard’s shot on goal from 15 yards in the third minute against senior goalie Emily Orsatt gave the Bulldogs (6-9-3 and 6-5-3 in league) a 1-0 edge.
But it was level at 1-1 a minute later on a goal by senior forward Maddie Riggs from 10 yards off a rebound.
In the 35th minute, Bochard’s shot on goal from 10 yards made it 2-1 as Burbank took the lead at the intermission.
“We played pretty good in the first half,” said Bochard, who will play soccer and run track at the University of Montevallo in Alabama. “We created more opportunities. In the second half we mostly tried to hold on.”
The second half shifted in favor of the Indians, who placed third in league play and were on offense it seems the entire time against a tired Burbank defense.
“We gave them too many presents,” Burbank coach Eric Montoya said. “That second goal shouldn’t have happened. Our conditioning hurt us.”
Senior midfielder Danielle Yanez launched a shot on goal from 40 yards in the 11th minute for the Bulldogs and that was followed by shots on goal from Bochard from 25 yards in the 13th minute while sophomore midfielder Kamille Eugenio’s shot on goal from 20 yards in the 26th minute sailed too high.
The Indians (12-8-2 and 8-5-1) then had a pair of shots on goal from 20 yards by senior midfielder Mireya Gonzalez in the 28th minute and the 29th minute.
Bochard, who played in only 14 matches because of her club commitment, had four consecutive shots on goal that included a 10-yarder in the 35th minute that Orsatt made a tremendous stop on, a 10-yarder in the 35th minute that made it 2-1, a 10-yard header in the 38th minute and a 20-yarder in injury time.
“We continued to try and play our game,” Burroughs coach Brady Riggs said of the opening half. “What they [Burbank] do, they do well. We stuck to our style of play in the second half.”
Mosdale’s shot on goal in the 48th minute from 10 yards opened the second half and Mosdale added another shot on goal from 10 yards four minutes later.
Burroughs senior midfielder Alondra Solis had a shot on goal from 20 yards in the 54th minute and Riggs had a 25-yarder sail wide left in the 61st minute.
Gonzalez’s 15-yarder in the 63rd minute was blocked and a 15-yarder by Solis in the 65th minute also failed to find the net.
The Bulldogs broke the spell briefly on sophomore forward Jessica Rocha’s 35-yard shot on goal in the 69th minute.
But Burroughs gathered itself as it had the final five shots on goal as Riggs had a 25-yarder in the 71st minute, Solis from five yards in the 72nd minute, Solis on a penalty kick from 25 yards in the 73rd minute, Gonzalez from 25 yards that soared too high in the 74th minute and the match-tying goal from Mosdale.
