Lady Panthers score upset

It was all the scoring the No. 8-seed Panthers (13-4-6 overall) would need to deliver an upset, 1-0 victory in Tuesday’s CIF Northern California Division III opener at No. 1 Mountain View. The win — the first ever in a Nor Cal tourney for the Burlingame lady kickers — proved payback for getting ousted from the CCS Open Division tournament by Mountain View in lopsided fashion last season.

“This win was really big for us,” Burlingame goalkeeper Sophia Young said. “Especially coming off last year losing 6-0 to them. I’m really proud of us being able to get that win off today.”

Young played the starring role in what proved an exceptional display of disciplined soccer, with both squads exhibiting meticulous ball control and precise strikes when the opportunities came.

“It was really high-level soccer,” Burlingame head coach Phillip De Rosa said. “Believe it or not, this team has just grown and grown … and it’s just amazing to see how well they’re playing. They’re playing together as a team, they played … a lockdown defense and take advantage of any opportunity you get, and just see where it goes. And that’s what happened today.”

The only contrast was when Mountain View would play the ball in and converge on the box, creating chaos for Young and the Burlingame defensive back row.

But contending with chaos just happens to be Burlingame’s specialty. And with a brilliant goaltending exhibition from Young, along with timely contributions from Macko and Burlingame’s other three clutch defenders — Aidan Bardsley, Allison Bradley and Courtney Koch — the Panthers earned the shutout in style.

“That comes from this whole year, we keep that same defense in there, essentially the same players,” De Rosa said. “And they really work as one.”

Mountain View (15-6-3) was playing at a disadvantage without star midfielder Sistine Noel in the lineup. The junior suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Central Coast Section Division I semifinals. And while the Spartans went on to capture the CCS title without Noel, they certainly missed her Tuesday.

“We had to figure out how to play the middle, so we did it by committee,” said Jeff Panos, Mountain View’s first-year head coach who previously helmed the boys’ team at Serra.

In addition to Burlingame’s top-notch defensive showing, the game’s lone goal also came courtesy from a defender as the mighty leg of Macko got the Panthers on the board in the 29th minute.

Senior midfielder Ava Klapper set up a Burlingame possession with a quick steal at midfield. The Panthers sent the ball beyond the left sideline for a deep Mountain View throw-in but took it right back and worked it efficiently across the middle. Macko took the ball just right of center and took a chance with a long boomer, exacting the middle of the goal, over the keeper’s head and in.

“I did not think it was going in,” Macko said. “I heard it hit the net and I was like, ‘Oh! It went in!’”

Then the vaunted Panthers defense held the line for the remainder of the half with three clutch saves from Young in the stretch of one minute.

The Spartans started a frantic sequence when Isabella Walker fought through the box to take a shot from 10 yards out, forcing Young to leave her feet to slap it away. The Burlingame defense had to bide its time to allow Young a chance to recover, and Bardsley came through, along with Koch and Bradley containing the Mountain View swarm, but their attempt to clear it fell back to the foot of Walker. The sophomore took another close-range shot but, by that time, Young was back on her feet and saved the day with a diving cover.

“I was pretty much able to track it the entire way,” Young said. “I was ready, but it kept deflecting off everyone’s feet and I was just moving everywhere.”

Less than a minute later, Mountain View junior Erin Coyne tried for a long look 30 yards out, and her arcing shot made it over the back row to bounce near the right post, but Young raced over to push the ball around the upright to force a corner kick. Burlingame was able to clear it off the send-in, keeping the score 1-0 at the half.

“What makes her so special, and I’ve been saying this all along, is her instinctive reactions to where the ball is, is second to none,” De Rosa said. “I mean, this is a college-level goalkeeper. And the thing that sets her off — yes, you can make spectacular saves; this, that, whatever — but how quick can you do it? What is your instinctive reaction? And she has that. And that’s what makes her so special.”

Then came the save of the day when Young was forced to defend a shot off her own player.

Off a Mountain View corner kick, Coyne worked the end line before sending a cross into the box. Coyne’s pass had so much on it, the Burlingame defense didn’t have time to redirect it, instead having it careen on goal.

Young used all her instincts and athleticism to make the save, though, going full-on Spider-Woman to make a midair grab.

Then in the 78th minute, with Mountain View throwing everyone into the box, Young got some more help from her backline. Freshman forward Kate Stone followed a shot as Young charged out. The senior keeper got to the ball just ahead of Stone, but a collision jarred the ball loose with Young tumbling to the turf. Stone was in the act of chasing down the loose ball but Bardsley swooped in to save the day, walling out Stone just off the right post to deflect the ball across the end line. The ensuing Mountain View corner kick was cleared, all but wrapping up the win for the surging Panthers.

“We had pretty low expectations coming in,” Macko said. “I think today we just worked hard and knew we weren’t going to be able to attack a lot. So, we just worked on our defensive mindset.”

All in a day’s work for the defensive intensive Panthers, who now advance to the Northern California semifinals. Burlingame will travel to Acalanes-Lafayette for a Thursday showdown at 4 p.m.