Panthers persevere for crown

Look, I can understand being upset that your team didn’t win, but to say the Panthers didn’t earn it is utterly ridiculous because the simple fact of the matter is, Burlingame’s win was the quintessential definition of “earning” the title.

The Panthers were completely outplayed in the first half, as the Wildcats got off 11 shots to none for Burlingame. Of those 11 shots, eight were on frame with Panthers’ goalkeeper Owen Schroedor making six stops and then getting help when a pair of shots clanged off the crossbar and post as the teams went into halftime scoreless.

In the second half, Burlingame turned the tables, controlling the action for much of the half until Dougherty Valley squeezed in a goal off a corner kick with 14 minutes left in regulation.

The Panthers dug deep, however, and drew even when striker Sammy Faham was chopped down in the penalty box by the DV goalkeeper. Anyone who didn’t think that was a penalty doesn’t know soccer. Altai Ordubadi then tied the game when he converted the ensuing penalty kick with seven minutes left in regulation.

That set up Dylan Rossen’s improbable game-winner seven minutes into golden-goal overtime.

Was Rossen’s goal lucky? A little bit. He had to slide into the shot from about 25 yards out. But like a seeing-eye grounder in baseball, his shot avoided all the traffic in front of the goal and slipped just inside the right post.

But you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take and, in the game of soccer, you simply have to get a shot on frame and then see what happens.

Dougherty Valley found out what happens when you don’t take advantage of your opportunities.

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Not only was Burlingame’s soccer title the first in program history, the Panthers became the first soccer team from San Mateo County to clinch a Nor Cal crown.

A staple in Southern California since 2008, the Nor Cal soccer tournament didn’t come to Northern California until the 2018 season. Burlingame was in that inaugural tournament, thanks to the Panthers advancing to the Central Coast Section Open Division championship game, where they lost to St. Ignatius, 2-1. The Wildcats went on to win that Nor Cal Division I title.

In 2020, the Burlingame girls advanced to the Division III title game, losing 3-0 to Montgomery-Santa Rosa about a week before the world shutdown because of the pandemic.

In 2022, both the Aragon and Sacred Heart Prep boys’ advanced to the Division III and Division IV finals, respectively, both both came up short. Aragon fell to Patterson 3-0, while the Gators were beaten by Vintage-Napa, 2-1.

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Boy, time flies when teams make deep runs into the postseason. As the Daily Journal sports staff has been inundated with CCS and Nor Cal basketball and soccer the last several week, the spring sports season has already started to blossom.

League play has already begun in Peninsula Athletic League badminton, boys’ tennis and golf, swimming, and track and field, while PAL Lake Division baseball gets underway Tuesday. The rest of PAL baseball, along with softball, begins league play next week.

But if you’re looking for some good games to watch, I have some suggestions.

There is still one basketball team still alive, as the seventh-seeded Crystal girls will host No. 13 Oakland in the Northern California Division championship game at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

If you’re looking for some baseball games, the annual Serra-Burlingame matchup is 7 p.m. Friday at Washington Park, pending any kind of further rain this week.

It’s one of two night games for the Panthers this week, as they host El Camino at 7 p.m. Tuesday night.

If softball is more your style, you can catch Half Moon Bay at Capuchino for an early-evening game at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

If you’re looking to get your fix of track and field, San Mateo and Carlmont will be at Sequoia for a tri-meet at 3 p.m. Tuesday. The Bearcats are coming off a good showing at the K-Bell Track and Field Classic last Saturday at Westmont High School.

And Saturday, Hillsdale hosts the Fighting Knights Relays beginning at 9 a.m., which is a nice way for a lot of local track and field teams to get an idea of what the season has in store for them.

In fact, March is chock full of track and field events. Next Saturday is the St. Francis Invitational, followed by the Firebird Relays at Fremont-Sunnyvale the following week. And during the final weekend of the month of March is the annual Stanford Invitational March 29 and 30.

Nathan Mollat can be reached by email: nathan@smdailyjournal.com.