Burlingame can’t slow Hillsdale’s roll

Burlingame played much better in the second half Friday, at one point forging a tie, but Hillsdale appears unstoppable this season. The Knights scored what turned out to be the game-winning goal with less than five minutes left to post a 2-1 win and move four points clear of second-place Burlingame.

There is still time left in the season, though. Does this eliminate the Panthers from Bay Division title contention?

“Most likely,” Dimech said. “But we wanted to make sure we gave them a game. In the second half, we were more aggressive and wanted the ball more.”

For Hillsdale (8-0-3 PAL Bay, 27 points; 11-1-5 overall), the victory marked the end of an important week as the Knights beat their two closest pursuers in the standings —taking down third-place Woodside Wednesday, 2-0, and knocking off the Panthers Friday.

But when Burlingame (7-3-2, 23 points; 11-3-2) tied the score in the 66th minute when Boran Kurt flicked home header at the near right post off an assist from Ricky Felix, the Panthers had Hillsdale head coach Jaime Gomez worried as they had his team on their back foot.

After being outclassed in the first half, Burlingame was much more stuck in the second half, as Dimech made some adjustments, including moving Daniel O’Shea out of his center back spot and into an attacking midfield role.

“I needed a little more battle in the midfield,” Dimech said.

O’Shea’s play, along with the rest of his teammates, had the Knights playing catchup.

“The momentum changed and we couldn’t find the ball (in the second half),” Gomez said. “I’m not surprised. The second half of the Woodside game and this game, the guys are just exhausted.”

And the Panthers took advantage of that exhaustion by putting a lot of pressure along the sideline that eventually resulted in the game-tying goal. At the end of a sequence of several throw-ins, Burlingame finally found some magic as Felix lifted a cross from near the right sideline to the near right post, where Kurt was stationed for the equalizer.

The goal snapped the scoreless streak of the Hillsdale defense and goalkeeper Emilio Lopez. The Knights, with Lopez in goal, had gone 447 minutes without conceding a goal, as they posted four consecutive shutouts. Add in a pair of Logan Baker clean sheets and it was the first goal the Knights had allowed since giving up one to Woodside in a 1-all draw Jan. 9 — nearly a month ago.

But a bang-bang play with less than five minutes left in regulation gave Hillsdale what turned out to be the game winning goal. The Knights drew a free kick just outside the Burlingame penalty box, 22 yards from goal. Tyler Hughes stood over the ball and pooched a cross into the box.

From out of nowhere, Nico Nachbar came flying in and one-timed a shot on the volley, roofing it for the 2-1 advantage.

“Great goal for Nico,” Gomez said, adding Nachbar has been working his way back from a ACL injury and had only been inserted into the game about five minutes prior to scoring.

The goal was certainly a relief for Gomez and the Knights, because things were almost too easy for them in the first half.

Hillsdale picked up Friday where it left off during that Jan. 14 win as the Knights dominated most of the first half. They were winning nearly all the 50-50 balls, were forcing Burlingame turnovers in the Panthers’ own end and were simply quicker all around the field.

But for the first 15 minutes, Burlingame played perfect Dimech defense — keep the attack limited to the top of the penalty box.

And it worked for a while. Despite all the Knights’ possession, it wasn’t adding up to many dangerous chances. But that all changed in the 16th minute as Hillsdale earned a free kick 25 yards from goal, stationed along the left side of field.

Both Bernardo Chaparro and Hughes stood near the ball, with Chaparro running a dummy over the top and Hughes putting a shot on frame.

And it was perfect. Hughes delivered a Messi-esque shot over the Burlingame defensive wall and dropping it just under the crossbar in the far, upper right corner for the 1-0 lead. The Knights had a chance to double their lead in the 28th minute, but misfired on a shot right in front of the goal.

“That’s soccer,” Gomez said.

Burlingame’s best chance in the first half came in the 26th minute as Felix hit a rocket of a shot on the half-volley, but Hillsdale’s Lopez was there with a dive to his right to make the save and keep the Panthers off the scoreboard.

“The last 10 minutes of the first half, we found our feet and started competing better,” Dimech said.