Quarford building girls’ lacrosse program at Fallbrook High

Fallbrook High School varsity girls lacrosse coach Ashley Quarford would prefer that the Warriors' record was better than 1-9 after the team's first ten games of 2016, but she also understands that building a lacrosse program is a multi-year endeavor.

“It's going to grow,” Quarford said.

Quarford, who was Fallbrook's junior varsity co-coach last year and learned in September that she would be succeeding Bri Poteet as the Warriors' head coach, attended San Marcos High School and then studied at Cal State San Marcos. The Cougars began women's lacrosse in 2011 and Quarford joined the team as a freshman in 2012.

“That first year we weren't winning games,” Quarford said. “It was really difficult for us.”

Quarford concluded her collegiate career in 2015. “My junior year we started catching on to things,” she said.

That junior year was 2014. In 2015 the Cougars reached the playoffs for the first time ever and concluded the Women's College Lacrosse Association national tournament ranked tenth in the United States and second among California teams.

Quarford hopes to apply her experience building the Cal State San Marcos program as a player to building the Fallbrook program as a coach. “The program's growing and it's setting up the foundations,” she said.

Last year, Quarford shared junior varsity coaching duties with Brittany Burek. This year, Burek and Marissa Rillo, both current Cal State San Marcos players, are the junior varsity co-coaches.

The 2016 Warrior varsity has 20 players while this year's junior varsity squad currently consists of 16 players. Last year, the Warriors had 19 varsity players with a 16-girl JV roster. Fallbrook did not have a junior varsity in 2014, and between 2011 and 2013, the Warriors also did not have a varsity.

Four of Quarford's current varsity players were part of her junior varsity team in 2015. One ninth-grader made this year's varsity as a freshman. The other 15 players return from last year's varsity squad, which finished with a 4-14 record.

Fifteen of the 20 varsity players are seniors. “It's like a whole rebuilding phase after that,” Quarford said.

Fallbrook's first win of 2016 was by a 3-2 score March 21 at home against San Dieguito Academy. That Valley League contest also gave the Warriors their first league victory since 2009. Fallbrook was 0-8 in Valley League play last year, although the Warriors' four overall wins were the most since the 2006 team finished with a 13-7 record.

The March 21 game was tied at two goals apiece after regulation, and in the first 30 seconds of golden goal overtime Fallbrook senior Madeline Gillcrest scored the winning goal.

“It was like a huge turning point for us,” Quarford said. “We were just rolling off that.”