BOYS SOCCER: Burlingame Falls 3-2 in CCS Final

The Score: Willow Glen 3, Burlingame 2.

The Star: The leadership of the Burlingame High seniors. Despite seeing a 1-0 deficit balloon to a three-goal hole in the final 15 minutes of the Central Coast Section Division II championship game, the Panthers never gave up. Burlingame stormed back behind goals from Stefano Bonomo and Ben Zipkin in a fantastic finish at Gilroy High on Saturday afternoon.

The Turning Point: Willow Glen’s insurance goals. Trailing 1-0, top-seeded Burlingame (17-4-2) needed to press forward in hopes of netting the equalizer. Unfortunately for the Panthers, third-seeded Willow Glen was twice able to capitalize on Burlingame’s undermanned defense, pushing its lead to 3-0. The Panthers rallied late, but ran out of time.

The Quote: “I’d say 100 percent we had better chances (than Willow Glen did). In front of the goal today, we just didn’t have the killer instinct we usually have. We were constantly pressuring and had plenty of opportunities, but we just couldn’t capitalize today.” – Burlingame coach Mike Sharabi, on what ailed his team until the late going in the CCS Division II final.

What’s Next? The Panthers’ season is finished.

The Bottom Line: Burlingame fell just short of claiming its first Central Coast Section championship since 1997. … Despite allowing a goal on a corner kick midway through the opening half, the Panthers enjoyed at least as many quality chances as Willow Glen. … Facing what Sharabi called “two of the best forwards we’ve seen all year,” the Burlingame defense -- Mark Lopez, Connor Johnson, Sebastian Trevino and Zipkin -- played a very strong game. Zipkin moved up to center forward when the need for an enhanced attack became clear – and he headed in the second goal on a cross from the right side with about a minute left. … Bonomo, a Cal-bound midfielder, capped his prep career by totaling three goals in the and championship. … San Mateo County has not had a CCS boys soccer champion in Division I or II since 1999, when Carlmont and former BHS coach Fred Cesano won the Division II crown. … Willow Glen was the 2010 runner-up in Division II to St. Francis. … Despite losing a very talented senior class from the unit that won BHS’s first Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division title in four years, the Panthers will return experienced players at important positions. Center midfielders Kody Wakasa and Shayan Alimohammadzadehamini, forward Eduardo Trujillo and defenders Lopez and Trevino are among those who will be players to watch in the 2011-12 season. … Sharabi, a former four-year player at Burlingame, guided the Panthers to one of the program’s best seasons in his first year. BHS hadn’t advanced to a CCS final since 2003.

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Willow Glen 3, Burlingame 2

At Gilroy High

Scoring: WG: unreported 20:00, WG: unreported 68:00, WG: unreported 72:00, B: Bonomo 75:00, Zipkin 79:00.

Records: Burlingame 17-4-2. Willow Glen 17-4-2.