By Rick Assad
An average opening half was negated by a much stronger second half by the Burroughs High girls’ soccer team versus Arcadia on Monday afternoon at Memorial Field.
Trailing at halftime 1-0, the Bears evened the count with freshman midfielder Jasmin Varela’s goal from 25 yards off a rebound in the 58th minute that knotted the match and when neither team scored from that point, a 1-1 tie was the final outcome in a Pacific League showdown.
“Kudos to Jasmin for finding that volley for the equalizer,” first-year Burroughs head coach Robert Sanchez noted.
The Apaches (8-1-4 and 3-0-1 in league) zoomed ahead 1-0 in the 34th minute when sophomore midfielder/defender Daniela Guzman found the back of the net from 15 yards on a rebound after freshman forward Mayisa Kouwonou’s shot from 23 yards just missed seconds earlier.
Sanchez was pleased with how his team played.
“Against a team that plays a formidable and disciplined tactical system, our team stepped up to the challenge,” he said. “Our players maintained intensity for all eighty minutes of the match. They did a great job winning the ball and transitioning to attack quickly.”
The junior goalie for the Bears (4-3-4 and 0-0-2 in league) stood out and had several key saves.
“The addition of Sydney Evans-Armendariz in the goalkeeping role has greatly improved the potential and performance of the team,” Sanchez noted.
Arcadia outshot Burroughs 15-10 in the match including 9-7 in the opening half.
In the third minute, sophomore defender Isabella Estrada had a corner kick for the Bears that rolled on the top of the net.
Sophomore midfielder/forward Brooke Monson added a 17-yarder in the fourth minute for the Apaches and teammate senior midfielder Alaina Lee notched a 23-yard kick in the eighth minute.
Freshman forward Maya Pelaez broke through for the Bears with a 37-yarder in the ninth minute.
Arcadia had the next two kicks as junior midfielder Zayne Bannoura had a 25-yard boot in the 18th minute and Kouwonou tossed in a corner kick in the 24th minute.
Freshman defender Geneva Kiefer broke the spell for the Bears as she contributed a 32-yard boot in the 26th minute.
Arcadia had three consecutive attempts as sophomore defender Marcela Lugo had a 50-yard free kick in the 28th minute followed by Lee’s 37-yarder that hit the top bar of the net in the 29th minute and junior defender Bella Kellerman’s 60-yard free kick in the 30th minute.
Consecutive kicks by Varela followed as she had a 33-yard blast in the 32nd minute and a 29-yarder that just missed the target in the 33rd minute.
Junior forward Samantha Sizemore added a 23-yard effort in the 38th minute for the Bears and Varela tossed in a 28-yarder in extra time.
Burroughs opened the second half by kicking three of the first four attempts as Pelaez nailed a 26-yarder in the 46th minute and Sizemore contributed a 25-yard kick in the 47th minute.
Lugo began with a 27-yarder in the 41st minute and the Apaches capped the match with five shots, and they included Monson’s 23-yarder in the 72nd minute and Lee added back-to-back kicks from 27 yards in the 74th minute.
Kouwonou contributed a 22-yarder in the 76th minute and Monson’s 20-yarder in the 78th minute was the final attempt.
“Samantha drew a lot of defensive attention because of the threat she posed. Our center backs, [junior defender] Catrina Sandoval and [freshman defender] Margarita Varela were challenged to keep pace with the Arcadia forwards but lived up to that with positioning and intelligent play,” Sanchez said. “[Senior midfielder] Ella Sage was a key stopper ahead of the back line, and a strong physical presence. Coupled with the relentless energy of [freshman midfielder] Isabel Batres, we were able to maintain a strong foothold in the midfield.”
Sanchez added: “We were fortunate to regain the help of [senior midfielder] Vivian Wright after an injury, who is key to our possession philosophy,” he pointed out. “I can’t overstate the importance of our fullbacks, Geneva and [sophomore defender] Isabella, who sometimes led the play from the perimeter.”
