Four matches into Pacific League action and there’s a clear indication of frustration for the members of the Burroughs High boys’ soccer team.
Some of those 80-minute contests have included golden scoring opportunities, only to be thwarted by the opposition.
That proved to be the case again for Burroughs, which sustained a 3-0 league home loss against Crescenta Valley at Memorial Field on Friday.
Burroughs (2-4, 1-3 in league) had a shot hit the post and another strike off the crossbar while falling to Crescenta Valley (2-2 in league) in the first of two head-to-head matchups.
“It’s definitely frustrating right now,” said Burroughs second-year coach Makan Afzali, whose squad was blanked for the second time in league this season. “We feel like we are playing and staying with things, but we are not converting on our chances. You look at the final score today, but it wasn’t a one-sided score by any means.
“I thought at halftime that we could come back and get at least one [league] point. We made some mistakes in the second half and we paid for it.”
The Falcons, who won the league championship last season, took a 1-0 lead on a goal by James Chavez in the 19th minute.
Burroughs’ Danny Pascual bounced a shot from inside the box off the left post about a minute later.
Pascual helped keep it at 1-0 when he blocked a shot at the goal line in the 45th minute by David Hovsepian before Crescenta Valley took a 2-0 lead on a goal by Grant Hovhannisyan about four minutes later.
The Bears nearly cut the deficit in half, but a 30-yard shot by Timur Stakhiv deflected off the the crossbar in the 54th minute. The Falcons wrapped up the scoring with nearly three minutes remaining on a goal from Dante Araratyan.
Afzali said the Bears, who have already played three league home contests, need to regroup if they are to contend for a postseason berth.
“Sometimes things don’t go your way,” said Afzali, a former Crescenta Valley goalkeeper. “We get another shot at these teams, but we need to score on our chances.”
The Bears and Falcons will meet again Jan. 23 at Crescenta Valley.
Burroughs will face off versus host Hoover in a league match Thursday.
