Indians dominate in opener

MEMORIAL FIELD — The Burroughs High boys’ soccer team created enough of its own scoring opportunities in the first half of its match against Fulton Prep.

However, after 33 minutes and 10 shots, the Indians were still without a goal.

Burroughs was finally able to hit paydirt late in the first half, and opened the floodgates with three goals in the second to earn a 4-0 victory Thursday in the first round of pool play in the 16th annual Ralph Brandt Tournament at Memorial Field.

The Indians were paced by junior forward Cameron Collier, who tallied two goals.

“We have some good midfielders who are able to get us the ball,” Collier said. “And we have a good defense that is very fast. That all helps us a lot.”

The win is the second straight shutout for the Indians (2-0) and starting junior goalkeeper Alex Escobar. The team has outscored its opponents, 7-0, in the two wins.

Burroughs will resume play in its tournament at 7 p.m. today with a match against North Hollywood at Memorial Field.

Indians Coach Mike Kodama said he was impressed with his team’s offensive output against the Jaguars — once it got going.

“We made a lot of our own opportunities,” he said. “We knew if we keep getting the chances, we are going to be able to score. We finally were able to do that toward the end of the first half and into the second half.”

The Indians offense put constant pressure on outmatched Fulton, outshooting it, 11-1, in the first half and 23-3 overall.

After missing on its first 10 shots, Collier scored Burroughs’ first goal in the 34th minute on a header following a fine cross-pass from junior defender Gilen Guenther.

“That was a great pass by Gilen,” Collier said.

Guenther was all over the field throughout the match, finding teammates with crisp passes and taking the ball away from the Jaguars (0-1).

Just one minute into the second half, Burroughs struck again, as Collier found the net on a header.

Junior forwards Luis Felix and Derek Olson completed the Indians’ scoring.