Carlmont’s roll slowed

“We’re just battling,” said Burlingame head coach Phil DeRosa.

Tuesday’s tie was the first bump in the road for a Scots squad that has roared into first place in the Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division over the last week. Carlmont (7-2-1 PAL Bay, 22 points, 13-3-3 overall) had won four straight in division play and with a two-point lead over second-place Woodside going into Tuesday’s games, Carlmont had a chance to put some distance between itself and the Wildcats.

The Scots certainly had their chances as they dominated game. Midfielder Samantha Phan and wing Kyla Orthbandt took turns taking the Burlingame midfield off the dribble as the Scots peppered the Panthers goal all game long, out-shooting the Panthers 25-5.

“They made Sam and Kyla word hard,” said Carlmont head coach John Wilkinson. “We had a lot of shots. Just not quality shots.”

That was by design, according to DeRosa.

“I knew Carlmont was deadly on shots from the midfield,” DeRosa said. “I had to shut that off. Just don’t give up those shots in the middle.”

The Burlingame back line of Allison Bradley, Lillian Potter, Courtney Koch and Josie Lacross did an excellent job of standing up the Carlmont attack at the top of the penalty box, time and again getting a foot in front of a Scots shot attempt as they kept the Scots on the perimeter.

When Carlmont did manage to get through the Panthers’ defense, goalkeeper Sophia Young was there to thwart the Scots. Young finished with 12 saves for the game, a handful of which were elite stops. Midway through the first half, Orthbandt let loose a shot from the top of the box, only to see Young spring to her right for a diving save. In the second half, she came up with three huge saves. The first came in the 64th minute when Sabrina Kelley sent a pass across the face of the goal to an unmarked Katie Blondino, who was stationed at the far right post.

But Young slid all the way across the face of the goal and managed a kick save on Blondino’s shot to keep the game tied at 1. In the 75th minute, she came off her line to win a 50-50 ball just before Carlmont’s Jenna Reinhardt could get her foot on it. A minute later, Young parried away another attempt.

“She’s phenomenal,” DeRosa said, pointing out she has won PAL Bay Division Goalkeeper of the Year twice in four years.

“She’s special.”

Added Wilkinson: “They have probably the best keeper in the league.”

Neither Young nor her Carlmont counterpart, Sarah Stulbarg, had much chance on the goals that were scored, however. Burlingame (3-2-4, 13 points) took a surprising 1-0 lead just seven minutes into the game. After weathering a relentless wave of attacks from Carlmont for the first five minutes of the game, the Panthers made their first real attack which resulted in a corner kick. Potter sent in a cross that bounced around in the penalty box before Koch latched onto it and put it away for a goal against the flow of play.

“I knew [Carlmont was] very good with their possession game,” DeRosa said. “But I also felt we could take advantage on transition.”

The Panthers had a chance to double their lead three minutes into the second half when Ella Macko sent a ball through the defensive line of the Scots. Burlingame’s Isabllea Tallerico, a Carlmont defender and Stulbarg all came together about 25 yards from goal. Tallerico touched the ball around the sliding goalkeeper and had an empty net, but the Carlmont defender kept pressing and Tallerico pulled her shot agonizingly wide.

“I really wanted that one,” DeRosa said.

Having dodged that bullet, the Scots would go on to knot the score at 1 in the 50th minute. Carlmont received a free kick near the right sideline, 30 yards from goal. Rachel Summers chipped a ball into the Burlingame penalty box and then chaos ensued.

An initial shot hit off the left post. A rebound shot appeared destined for the back of the net, but was cleared off the goal line by the Burlingame defense.

The third time was the charm for the Scots, however, as Phan got a foot to the ball and shot into the far right corner to tie the score with 30 minutes left to play.

Burlingame’s Young stuffed Carlmont’s other attempts, while the Panthers struggled to get anything going offensively.

“When you’re overmatched, you have to know how [to deal with it],” DeRosa said. “We’ll take the point (that comes with a tie).”

Said Wilkinson: “We still have a chance to win league and have to keep pressing.”