A year after reaching the Central Coast Section (CCS) postseason final against Saint Ignatius at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara, the Panther soccer team looks poised to make another deep postseason run. After a promising NorCal run that ended with a tough 3-2 loss to Montgomery (Santa Rosa), the Panthers set their sights on a NorCal title this year. Luckily, with new CIF playoff changes allowing for the NorCal Division 1 champion to play for a state title against the SoCal champion, the Panthers have a chance to not only win a NorCal title, but to be the first Burlingame team to hang a state title banner since the 1988 women’s basketball team.

The Panthers carry a 9-3-3 record (6-1-3 PAL) into their final 3 games—one against a beatable team in Half Moon Bay (Feb. 13) and two against tough competition in Menlo-Atherton (Feb. 8) and South San Francisco (Feb. 11). Coach Anthony Dimech’s squad currently controls its own destiny in the Peninsula Athletic League (PAL), as a three-game winning streak to end the season would guarantee back-to-back PAL titles. However, the Panthers have their work cut out for them, considering they lost 2-0 in their first match against Menlo-Atherton and played South San Francisco to a scoreless draw at home.

Junior striker Ethan Kaufman expressed profound confidence in the team’s prospects, claiming that “we are on top of the league, and we will stay there.”

A big question mark that hovers over the team will be the status of senior center defender Aidan Burke, who sprained his ankle during a practice on Jan. 31 and will likely be out one to two weeks. He will not likely be ready to face Menlo-Atherton, but he would provide a huge boost against South San Francisco, especially considering his stellar play in the scoreless draw that helped Burlingame keep within reach of South San Francisco in the standings.