Samantha Sizemore scored two clutch goals in the first and second half in the win for the Bears over the Bulldogs 

Following a rough 1-0 loss to Pasadena on Monday night, the John Burroughs Bears split the three-game back-to-back by coming away with a 2-0 victory over the Burbank Bulldogs to punch their ticket to the CIF Southern Section Playoffs behind two goals by Samantha Sizemore. Burbank entered the cross-town rivalry contest following their 8-0 win over the Crescenta Valley Falcons last Thursday. 

The Bulldogs only had one true opportunity at goal, which was missed by Delilah Willams as her shot went into the hands of Sydney Evans Amandaris in the 25th minute in the first half. Samantha Sizemore put the Bears on the board with a goal in the 32nd minute to help them get off to a fast start. Burroughs led 1-0 at the halftime break.

The rain began to fall lightly when the second half began and the Bears offensively were on the attack right away. Isabella Estrada missed a shot on goal on a free kick in the 18th minute. Samantha Sizemore then scored her second goal of the contest in the 24th minute of play to put Burroughs up 2-0. Natalia Cortez recorded 10 saves in net and allowed two goals for Burbank while Sydney Evans Amandaris for Burroughs held Burbank to no goals and was only required to make one save. 

“It was good to see the girls come out and play. With it being the last game of the season we made sure that we got a lot of our seniors out there,” said Robert Sanchez. Sanchez stated that Sizmore’s two goals were key to the win, especially the first one when she showed patience.

Following the crosstown rivalry match the senior night festivities honoring the eight graduating seniors on the Burbank Bulldogs girls soccer program were moved indoors due to the rain outdoors. Those eight seniors who were honored and recognized for their hard work over the past four years were Natalia Cortez, Natalia Gonzalez Nicole Shamiryan( team captain), Dariana Baechilli, Hayden Bereta, Zoe Castillo, Mylee Ruiz, and Gracie Gisel as they were all celebrated in a postgame ceremony. 

“I thought everything went great and I appreciate all the hard work that Coach Leon, Sofie Leon, and Jocelyn Morgiana put in to still make senior night special,” said Bulldogs team captain Nicole Shamiryan. Shamiryan admitted what she’ll miss most about playing with the Burbank High Girls Soccer team is all the laughs and jokes that we had as a group. 

“We had a game plan and the girls stuck to it. Burroughs is a good team out there and hats off to them for getting the victory but the girls played hard in the loss,” said Dennis Leon. Leon admitted that the senior night ceremony that was held indoors was nice and everyone enjoyed it. 

Burroughs improves to 8-4-4 overall and 4-1-2 in Pacific League play and Burbank falls to 6-6-2 overall and 2-5-0 in Pacific League play. The Burroughs Bears will await their first-round opponent in the CIF Southern Section Playoffs on Saturday, February 8th and the Burbank Bulldogs season has come to a close and will prepare for next season.