Burlingame girls’ soccer continues to dominate

Tuesday’s result did little dispel that goal as the Panthers lit up Hillsdale in the second half on their way to a 4-0 win.

Not bad considering Burlingame had its Peninsula Athletic League opener postponed last Tuesday and were missing five players against the Knights following COVID tests earlier in the day.

“All in all, I was pleased,” said Burlingame head coach Philip De Rosa. “We scored that first goal (in the first half), that was OK. But I wanted a second goal. When we got that second goal, I was a lot more confident (we’d come away with the victory).”

It was an important win for the Panthers as they host Woodside in an early-season showdown Thursday between two teams expected to contend for the PAL Bay Division title.

As strong as the Burlingame offense has been, the Panthers’ defense has been impenetrable. Tuesday’s win now gives the defensive line — Ella Macko, Talia Aboiukhalil, Alyssa Andrews and Sofie Rodriguez, and goalies Alyssa Smith and Emily Gehaghty — a goal-less streak that has reached 360 minutes over their last four-and-a-half games, which began with a 10-2 win over Prospect in a Dec. 11 game, one in which the Panthers shut out the Royals in the second half.

“They were rock solid,” De Rosa said of his defense.

What made Burlingame (2-0 PAL Bay, 9-1 overall) even more dangerous was the fact that its defense can be downright offensive at times. Right back Ella Macko is one of the best players in the league and might be the PAL’s best two-way player. Playing like Brazilian legend Roberto Carlos, Macko wore out the right flank, transitioning from defense to offense and back again. Her hard work paid off by scoring one of two goals from Burlingame defenders.

Macko’s strike seven minutes into the second half, off an assist from Kaylee Ng who laid off a short touch to a charging Macko, gave De Rosa the two-goal lead he sought. Macko stepped into a shot 25 yards out and buried it in the right side of the net.

It was the second game in a row Macko found the back of the net.

“We are saying, on our side, she is a bona fide (Bay Division) MVP,” De Rosa said of Macko. “She is a complete soccer player. She knows how to play the game.”

But Macko wasn’t the only Burlingame defender to get in on the scoring act. Just before the end of regulation, Talia Aboiukhalil wrapped up the scoring when she headed home a corner kick off the foot of Ng, who finished the game with three assists.

Between the goals from Burlingame defenders, a blast from the past reappeared and has picked up where she left off.

Amalie Pianim, who burst on the scene as a freshman in 2018 before focusing on club soccer her sophomore and junior years, is back for her senior campaign and is making up for lost time. The Stanford-commit showed off her technical abilities but, in the end, it was her nose for the goal that determined her success. The play was started when Josie LaCrosse won a 50-50 ball about 30 yards from goal. She flipped a ball over the Hillsdale defensive line where a streaking Pianim latched onto the ball and beat the goalkeeper from 15 yards with a clinical finish for the Panthers’ third goal of the game.

It was Pianim’s seventh goal in three games. She notched hat tricks against both San Mateo and Sequoia.

“Everybody is looking at her,” De Rosa said of Pianim. “When you over-emphasize one player, it leaves other open.

“The beauty of this team is, she’s not the only weapon.”

Burlingame opened the scoring less than 10 minutes into the first half when, on a corner kick, Ng found sophomore Elise Spenner stationed at the far left post, where she headed in the first goal of the game.

Wearing No. 10, usually designated for the best player on the team, Spenner may not be the true definition of a No. 10, but certainly has the mentality to be one.

While not the most technically skilled on the ball, Spenner was constantly putting pressure on the Hillsdale defense.

“She didn’t want that number. … She was embarrassed,” De Rosa said. “I told her she was going to earn it (wearing No. 10) and she has. She’s really flourished.”

Hillsdale (0-1-1, 2-5-4) had a hard time linking up its midfield to its forward line and, while the Knights’ defense was mostly solid, they were punished for every mistake.

The Knights’ best scoring chance came in the 26th minute. Earning a free kick 30 yards from goal, Chaslyn Nestor stepped up and put a shot on frame. The goalkeeper was beaten, but the ball clanged off the crossbar and the rebound cleared away by the Burlingame defense.

The Knights had a couple more opportunities late in the game, but the Burlingame defense turned them aside.

“Typical Hillsdale team,” De Rosa said. “They’re going to fight to the end.”