Champs make statement

The Burlingame High girls' soccer team fell short in its quest to win three straight Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division championships, but its attempt for a Central Coast Section title three-peat is still very much alive. The No. 6 seed and host Panthers put a 6-0 drubbing on No. 11 Branham in a Division II first-round game on Wednesday. Burlingame (12-4-4) plays perennial powerhouse Mitty on Saturday at a sight and time to be determined. The Panthers beat the No. 3 Monarchs (14-5-3) last year to win their second straight CCS title. "Mitty is extremely talented, and clearly we will have our hands full," Burlingame coach Phillip De Rosa said. Even though the Panthers haven't been as dominant as in the previous two years -- they lost only one time in that span -- they're still one of the strongest teams around. Branham found that out the hard way. Burlingame did what it was supposed to do against an overmatched opponent -- it buried it. The Panthers led 3-0 at halftime, didn't allow a shot in the first half and stayed in firm control the rest of the way. Senior midfielder/forward Taylor McCann had three goals and two assists in leading the Burlingame onslaught. "I thought we came out really strong and made our presence known in the beginning," said McCann, who has scored 32 goals this season. Nicki Lunghi, Lena Mendelson and Jennifer Ticzon also scored for Burlingame, which had a 12-6 shots-on-goal advantage and finished with six corner kicks to Branham's zero. Lunghi got the scoring started in the 11th minute. Claire Mulligan made a nice run all the way to the left corner sideline before sending a cross to the penalty area. Branham had a chance to clear the ball away, but one of its players whiffed on the attempt. The ball went straight to an unmarked Lunghi, who drilled the shot to the upper part of the net. Eleven minutes later, the Stanford-bound McCann pulled off another highlight-reel moment. She gained possession on the left flank and dribbled through four Branham defenders before unleashing a hard shot to the left corner. Mendelson capped the first-half scoring by pouncing on a rebound off a McCann shot in the 40th minute to make it 3-0. McCann's last two goals came on headers off a cross from Mendelson and a corner kick from Hannah Pham, respectively. Burlingame's blowout win last night merely served as a tune-up for Saturday. "We haven't had a first-round game in ages, and I've always felt it was better to play this game because you're waiting 10 days in between games when you have a bye," De Rosa said. Burlingame played fast, quick and strong. In other words, it played typical Burlingame soccer. De Rosa was pleased with his team's all-out effort. "What's really encouraging is the girls played the full 80 minutes," he said. "They didn't stop playing, there was no let up and they kept on the pressure all night. Branham had two bona fide weapons, and our defense took them out of the game." The Panthers will have to excel in every phase of the game to beat Mitty again. Unlike the previous two years, Burlingame has experienced some adversity this season. But McCann feels some of the things the team has overcome will only help on Saturday. "Experiencing some adversity this season with things not going perfectly, it makes us want to do it (win CCS again) that much more," McCann said. Burlingame's rematch with Mitty is tantalizing on many fronts. The Panthers are going for a historic three-peat and would have to most likely get through another WCAL power in Presentation just to reach the finals. While the odds are stacked against the Panthers, you'd be hard-pressed to find a more resilient team. "We clearly have the toughest draw out of all the divisions, but our players are plenty capable (of winning CCS again)," De Rosa said. "But things have to break right. Getting one (section title) was really a miracle. Getting two was really special. This year some things have not broken right, but I like the way we're playing right now."