By Aaron Valdez
The Arcadia girls’ soccer team is wasting no time as only three games into the season the Apaches handily defeated Burbank 6-0 in their first Pacific League match-up on Tuesday.
“Obviously, it feels great,” said eight-year Head Coach Ryen Piszyk on getting the first win. “We have lots of new faces, lots of new positions, same style of play but just having people adapt has been a struggle.”
The defending Pacific League champs have had a less-than-ideal start this season, falling to La Salle 1-0 while drawing even with Monrovia 0-0 who, albeit, are both talented teams. Piszyk also said his team’s early struggles are due to a pileup of injuries that have prevented the Apaches from finding a rhythm.
“We haven’t had a full team since we started practice. There’s been someone hurt, there’s been somebody with club, there’s been somebody sick so were still trying to get everybody healthy,” Piszyk said.
However, Arcadia managed to find its footing in Tuesday’s routing over Burbank as the team seems primed to defend the title this season.
The game was essentially over in the first have as the Bulldogs were no match for Arcadia’s ball movement and speed, especially along the flanks. The Apaches went into the half with a 4-0 lead and never looked back in the second half.
Five different players found the back of the net for Arcadia with sophomore Sanaz Mosallaie leading the way with a brace. Other scorers included Avery Bogue, Shriya Velichala, Cameron Hoon and Teresa Rosas.
Despite Arcadia’s success in the final third, junior Bertha Guzman was a force in the midfield, distributing the ball and disrupting Burbank’s offense while dishing out three assists in the process. Goalkeeper Emme Chen was also given the clean sheet.
The Apaches will look to start their first winning streak of the year when they head out to Hoover High School to play the Tornadoes on Friday.
