With the Burroughs High boys’ soccer team looking to break out of a goal-scoring drought, Dominic Quijada was all too happy to lead the charge.
The senior forward provided the Bears with a helping hand and maybe more.
Quijada scored a career-high four goals to power visiting Burroughs to a come-from-behind 4-2 Pacific :League victory against Hoover on Thursday.
Of added significance, Quijada finished with three second-half goals to ignite the Bears, who had been blanked in two of their first four league contests.
Burroughs (3-4, 2-3 in league) entered Tuesday’s matchup coming off a 3-0 league home defeat against Crescenta Valley on Friday at Memorial Field. Hoover (3-3, 2-3) looked to stay ahead of Burroughs in the first of two head-to-head meetings this season.
Quijada helped the Bears get the upper hand on the Tornadoes.
“I think we came out and were ready to play in the second half,” said Quijada, who scored the winning goal with about 20 minutes remaining. “We knew what we needed to do and we played with a lot more energy.
“We have had some good practices this week and we worked on some different things. I’m just glad I could contribute and it’s a big win for our team.”
Burroughs second-year coach Makan Afzali said Quijada’s effort might provide the Bears with a boost.
“He’s such a great player and very humble,” Afzali said. “He’s always working hard on the field and he inspires the rest of the players.
“He had a great game and maybe things will look better for our team. We didn’t make any mistakes in the second half and we took advantage of our scoring chances.”
Things appeared a bit bleak for Burroughs after Hoover took a quick 1-0 lead on a goal by Eduard Harutyunyan in the first minute.
Quijada knotted it at 1 in the 18th minute on a shot just under the crossbar.
The Tornadoes made it 2-1 when Garik Kotadjian lofted a shot from the left side just inside the right post with about 30 seconds to go in the first half.
Burroughs regrouped in the second half to snap their two-match losing streak.
Quijada tied it a 2 when he scored off a rebound in the 43rd minute before giving the Bears the lead with 21 minutes left.
Quijada completed his standout effort with a goal in the 73rd minute on a head ball.
“On the tying goal, I saw the goalie make the save and the ball landed right in front of me and I was able to score,” Quijada said. “On the winning goal, I had a touch and went wide with the ball before I hit the ball with force.”
The Tornadoes and Bears will square off again Jan. 26 at Burroughs.
Burroughs will resume league play Jan. 4 at Muir.
