Warrior field hockey team overcame early season woes to win playoff game

Although Fallbrook High School's field hockey team began the season with 12 losses and a tie in a tournament game in its first 13 games, Fallbrook finished with a 4-16-1 overall record that included a win over Bishop's in the first round of the CIF Division I playoffs and a 3-3 Valley League record which tied the Warriors for second place in the final standings.

"It was really rewarding to kind of see the girls grow," said Fallbrook coach Melissa Maultsby. "They are improving."

The evidence of late-season improvement was shown during league play when the Warriors reduced their margin of defeat against league champion San Pasqual from 7-0 in an Oct. 20 match to 3-0 in an Oct. 31 game, and when a 5-1 loss Oct. 27 at Valley Center was countered by a 2-1 Fallbrook win to close out the regular season Nov. 7 at home. The Warriors interrupted league play for a non-league contest Oct. 28 against Canyon Crest and the 3-1 loss was closer than the 6-1 defeat they suffered to the Ravens Sept. 15.

The varsity and junior varsity rosters had 15 freshmen, and Maultsby also prepared the Warriors for league and post-season play with a strong pre-league schedule.

"We could have played easy teams and had more wins for a better record," said Maultsby.

Maultsby instead chose a hard schedule to prepare the Warriors for league matches against San Pasqual and Valley Center. "You have to be able to compete against them," she said.

Fallbrook lost its first five games before playing Del Norte to a tie in the Serra Tournament (most field hockey matches which are tied after the end of field play are decided by a penalty stroke shootout, but some tournaments do not have such an overtime procedure and ties are included in teams' records). The Warriors then lost seven additional games, including the league opener at San Pasqual. Fallbrook's first win of the season was a 2-1 victory against Escondido at home Oct. 24, and the Warriors defeated the Cougars by a 3-2 score in overtime Nov. 4 in Escondido.

San Pasqual was undefeated in six league matches.

"There's just so much talent there," Maultsby said. "They play good field hockey."

Maultsby noted that most of San Pasqual's players are involved in club programs and play field hockey on a year-round basis. "It really shows when they play," she said.

Valley Center also had a 3-3 league record, so Fallbrook shared second place with the Jaguars. "That was huge," Maultsby said.

Although Fallbrook had a 3-15-1 regular-season record, all Division I teams participate in the CIF playoffs. The eight highest-seeded teams compete in the Open Division playoffs and the remaining 12 teams are in the Division I post-season tournament. Fallbrook ranked 19th among the 20 Division I teams which seeded the Warriors 11th in the Division I playoff. Fallbrook's first-round match took place Nov. 12 at sixth-seeded Bishop's.

The only goal in Fallbrook's 1-0 victory over Bishop's occurred two minutes into the second half when Jaylyn Leeman scored on the back post after taking a pass from Auggie Chavez. Fallbrook goalkeeper Gina Ready recorded eight saves during the shutout, which also involved assistance from starting defenders Grace Schmutz, Yuli Sanchez, Cassie Roberge, and Victoria Russell.

"It was a huge victory for them beating Bishop's," said Maultsby.

Third-seeded La Jolla hosted Fallbrook in the Nov. 15 quarterfinal and at one time the Vikings held a 3-0 lead. "The kids pulled together," Maultsby said.

Ashley Lackey scored Fallbrook's first goal during the second half. La Jolla increased its advantage to 4-1 before April Paulson scored to finalize the Vikings' margin of victory at 4-2.

"The kids came back," Maultsby said. "Once we finally clicked we ran out of time."

The 16 players on Fallbrook's varsity included seven seniors, all of whom were starters.

"The freshman class is going to be really strong when they get a little older, and that's real exciting," said Maultsby. "We've got a good future ahead of us."

Only three of this year's varsity players were on the 2015 Fallbrook team which finished with an overall record of 13-11-1, including a first-round loss to Serra in the CIF Open Division playoffs.

"I'm really proud of the girls and them buying into a tough season and how they performed," Maultsby said.