BURROUGHS SOCCER TAKES STEP TOWARD LEAGUE TITLE.Byline: Lee Barnathan Daily News Staff Writer Burroughs High School boys' soccer team was motivated mo·ti·vate tr.v. mo·ti·vat·ed, mo·ti·vat·ing, mo·ti·vates To provide with an incentive; move to action; impel. mo Friday night to beat Saugus for control of the race for league championship. Saugus High, which won the Foothill League showdown last year, didn't seem to have the drive to win - and it didn't. ``Our attitude in warmups was very lethargic,'' Saugus coach Nate Wright Nate Wright played professional American football in the NFL from 1969-1980. Professional Career Wright earned All-Pro honors at defensive back in 1974 and 1976. He career consisted mostly of time as a defensive back with the great Minnesota Vikings teams of the 1970s. said after Burroughs won 3-0. ``They had no reason to take Burroughs lightly.'' These two teams have controlled the league for the past five years. Burroughs won four titles before Saugus took it in 1996. Burroughs (12-5-2, 5-0-1) was ranked ninth by the Daily News rankings, six notches behind Saugus (14-3-3, 4-1-1.) Burroughs coach Mike Kodama said he didn't need to give any passionate pregame motivational speech. ``All we told them is, if you can't get up this game, what is it all about?'' Kodama said. As for Saugus, Wright can't figure out why his team wasn't up, why it played 80 percent of the match in the middle of the field and why it lost focus. Wright said that perhaps taking last week off for final exams Noun 1. final exam - an examination administered at the end of an academic term final examination, final exam, examination, test - a set of questions or exercises evaluating skill or knowledge; "when the test was stolen the professor had to make a new set of ruined the season's rhythm. ``I kept stressing, this game is important. You can't burn the midnight oil too much, although your studies are important,'' Wright said. Still, something wasn't right. Burroughs clogged the middle with as many as six defenders, leaving the wings wide open. On several occasions, players ignored Wright's hollered orders to use the outside. ``That frustrated frus·trate tr.v. frus·trat·ed, frus·trat·ing, frus·trates 1. a. To prevent from accomplishing a purpose or fulfilling a desire; thwart: me. In practice, I always stress to (use the wings),'' Wright said. ``The first time I saw them do that, I was not sure what the rationale rationale (rash´  nal´),n the fundamental reasons used as the basis for a decision or action. was.'' Kodama, in fact, expected this. He said he knew the Centurions would look for goal-scoring forward Jeff Hammond
Jeff Hammond (born on September 9, 1956), is a NASCAR personality. , who leads all area boys with 24 goals. Hammond usually plays in the middle of the field. For the third consecutive match, Kodama put senior Yuri Osipov on Hammond. The result was the same as the last two meetings: no goals for Hammond or Saugus. Kodama also knew his players, particularly junior forward Miguel Meneses, would run around and pester Saugus players. Meneses was an especially large thorn thorn, in botany thorn, sharp-pointed projection on some plants, usually protective in function. Botanically, thorns are distinguished as modified stems (as in the honey locust and hawthorn) from spines, which are modified leaves (as in the barberry), and in Saugus' side, scoring twice. Wright said after the match he didn't think Meneses was that much of a threat to deserve someone marking him all the time. On Sunday, Wright said he wished he had put midfielder
In association football, a midfielder is a player whose position of play is midway between the attacking strikers and the defenders (highlighted in blue on the diagram). David Whisner on Meneses. The league race is far from over. Both teams have four matches remaining against the rest of the league: Hart, Canyon, Valencia and Burbank, all of which lost to Saugus and Burroughs the first time around. The next two matches for Burroughs will be the most challenging. While Saugus plays Valencia and Burbank, Burroughs faces Hart, which hasn't been swept by Burroughs in four years, at 3 p.m. today. Then on Friday, Burroughs hosts Canyon - the game that concerns Kodama the most. The Cowboys cowboys, in American history. 1 Tory marauders, adherents to the British cause in the American Revolution, who fought in the contested area of Westchester co., N.Y. , in third place, almost tied Burroughs before losing 3-2 in the last meeting. And they didn't have two defensive starters, including the dangerous Jimmy Giordano. ``We can beat Burroughs. We can beat Saugus,'' Canyon coach Juan Arias said. ``It all depends on the kids.'' |
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