Seven Warriors given all-league field hockey honors

Paulson named league player of the year

The Valley League's field hockey coaches provided all-league recognition to seven Fallbrook High School players and selected Fallbrook senior April Paulson as the league player of the year.

"We actually had a lot of girls," said Fallbrook coach Melissa Maultsby. "I'm really proud of them. It's amazing."

Paulson was joined on the all-league first team by Ashley Lackey. Fallbrook's second-team players were Yuli Sanchez and Erin Murray. Honorable mention distinction was bestowed upon Gina Ready, Victoria Russell, and Delana Sehnert.

"Even though our record didn't reflect a winning season, we still had talent," Maultsby said. "They worked hard and deserved the achievements that the girls ended up earning."

Fallbrook finished with a 4-16-1 overall record including a win over Bishop's in the first round of the CIF Division I playoffs and a CIF quarterfinal loss to La Jolla. The Warriors' 3-3 record in Valley League play gave Fallbrook a share of second place in the final standings. The team began the season with a record of 0-12-1.

"We're just going to keep building and keep going and keep moving forward," Maultsby said. "This year was definitely our building year. They're learning a lot, and luckily we have the off-season."

(The off-season for CIF purposes includes the winter North County Indoor League, the National Field Hockey Festival during Thanksgiving Weekend, the Cal Cup tournament, the Play for Pink tournament hosted by Vista High School to fight breast cancer, and the Play for Mila tournament hosted by Fallbrook High School which focuses on suicide prevention. Individual players may also be invited to the February showcase in Florida, the National Indoor Tournament, and the Futures Tournament, and several colleges have summer camps.)

"We had a tough season and we had a lot of obstacles to get through, but the girls just really persevered," Maultsby said. "It was such a great learning and building year."

During the 35 years prior to the 2016 season only two freshmen, Jamie Garcia in 2008 and Tatiana Arias in 2012, played on the Fallbrook varsity as ninth-graders. This year the Warriors' varsity had five freshmen, including Murray and Sehnert.

"We had two freshmen that got all-league honors, which is great," Maultsby said. "It's definitely a rare thing."

Garcia did not earn all-league recognition until her sophomore season in 2009. Arias, who began 2012 on Fallbrook's junior varsity but was promoted to the varsity during her freshman year, first received all-league distinction in 2013.

Four of the all-league Fallbrook players are expected to return for the 2017 season. Lackey and Russell are juniors while Paulson, Sanchez, and Ready received all-league recognition as seniors.

Paulson was Fallbrook's center midfielder during the 2016 season. Although San Pasqual was undefeated in the Golden Eagles' six league matches and won the championship and Valley Center also had a 3-3 league record to share second place with the Warriors, the coaches' vote to select Paulson as the league player of the year was unanimous.

"It was nice to know that other coaches see me as standing out amongst their own players and my teammates," Paulson said.

"I think she completely deserves it," Maultsby said. "She was a huge asset to our team."

November 9 was the first permissible day high school seniors could sign letters of intent with National Collegiate Athletic Association universities, and that morning Paulson signed to play collegiate field hockey at Bellarmine University in Kentucky.

"I have been fortunate enough to have been part of April's journey for a couple of years now," Maultsby said.

Maultsby took over as Fallbrook's head coach for the 2016 season but also coaches the Hot Stix club which includes Paulson and participates in tournaments including the annual showcase. The 2016 tournament took place in Sarasota on Presidents' Day Weekend and was called the Presidents' Day Showcase, and during her trip to Florida Paulson received a call from Bellarmine expressing the Knights' interest in her.

Lackey spent the 2016 season as a forward.

"Ashley is such a great kid," Maultsby said. "She's a leader on the team. She's a really hard worker and is dedicated to the sport."

Sanchez played defense and midfield during her senior season and was also the Warriors' backup goalkeeper. Murray began her high school field hockey career as a forward and midfielder. Ready was Fallbrook's starting goalkeeper, Russell played as both a midfielder and a defender during 2016, and Sehnert earned her all-league honors

as a forward.

"I'm really proud of the kids," Maultsby said. "It's a nice way to close out the season."