Erik Antanesyan records nine saves in net in the tie for the Bulldogs over the Mustangs

On a chilly Saturday afternoon at Kemp Kallem Field, the Burbank Bulldogs, and the Muir Mustangs both were held scoreless throughout the contest behind effective defense from both teams and fantastic goalkeeping by Erik Antanesyan and Leonardo Cruz. Antanesyan had nine saves for the Bulldogs and Cruz recorded four saves for the Mustangs. The original game was supposed to take place on Friday, January 10th but concerns about the air quality caused by the ongoing wildfires forced the contest to be rescheduled to January 25th. Last Thursday, Burbank suffered a 3-1 loss to Pasadena and Muir came off a 0-0 draw to Hoover. 

The Mustangs had two golden chances to get on the board, but Lithum De Silva and Jai Brooks both missed opportunities at goal in the third and 33rd minutes of the first half. The Bulldogs also had a real shot of scoring first as Ashot Grigorian’s shot on goal bounced off the crossbar in the 35th minute of the first half. Both teams played effective defense throughout the opening half with both Burbank and Muir entering halftime scoreless. 

The second half was more of the same for both teams. Brooks and De Silva had real chances to break the tie, unfortunately, they still came up short with goal opportunities. Brooks missed on a free kick in the 4th minute and De Silva missed in the 15th minute. 

“It wasn’t our day today, Muir played well and they wanted it more. We did have a few players missing due to injuries or personal matters,” said Johnny Rotunno. Rotunno praised Antanesyan for his nine-save performance and kept the Bulldogs in the game but also said that the team positioning needs to be better and to “connect with our passes.” 

Both teams gained a point in the draw as Burbank’s record stands at 11-2-3 overall and 2-1-1 in Pacific League play while Muir’s record stands at 7-1-3 overall and 0-0-2 in Pacific League play. The Bulldogs will look to continue its push for a Pacific League title as they will take on the Hoover Tornados on Tuesday, January 28th at 6:30 p.m. which will take place following the girl’s game against Hoover in the day/night doubleheader. Muir will take on the Crescenta Valley Falcons on Wednesday, January 29th at 3:30 p.m.