Field hockey reaches CIF finals before loss to LCC

Fallbrook High School’s field hockey team reached the CIF Division I finals before a 2-0 loss November 19 to La Costa Canyon relegated the Warriors to runners-up.

“They played beautifully. They played their hearts out,” said Fallbrook coach Kathy Waite.

La Costa Canyon, which had been seeded second behind only Fallbrook in Division I, scored both goals in the first half of the finals. “We had to start playing catchup,” Waite noted.

The Warriors’ usual strategy is to play aggressively and take an early lead. “We weren’t able to do that and they were,” Waite remarked.

Fallbrook still managed 12 corner shots in the second half. “The girls second half played great,” Waite said.

“We adjusted nicely second half,” Waite remarked. “We just didn’t get it in, and their keeper did a great job.”

The championship match was the final high school game for six of Fallbrook’s seniors: Kristin Bardeen, Nicole Cook, Brianna Cummins, Angie Scoma, Keely Yankie and Alex Zeringue. Ashton Cisneros played in the Warriors’ other two playoff games, but a knee injury kept her from participating in the finals.

“I felt horrible for her. That was just way too hard on her,” Waite said of Cisneros sitting out the final match.

Cisneros is a forward. “The rest of the girls stepped up, did a beautiful job,” Waite noted.

Fallbrook had earned the top seed in the Division I playoffs, which gave the Warriors a first-round bye. They opened post-season play November 15 with a 1-0 win over Bonita Vista. “They played us beautifully. They almost tied it up,” Waite said of the Barons. “The second half they really came back.”

Cummins had the game’s only goal with a rebound shot approximately 12 minutes into the game. Andrea Monson had the assist against Bonita. Fallbrook goalie Lauren Woods had eight saves along with the shutout.

“Bonita played great,” Waite noted. “It wasn’t like we dominated or blew them away.”

Waite felt that the Warriors lacked energy and intensity against Bonita Vista, but that was rectified in the 1-0 semifinal win November 17 over Torrey Pines. “We played so much better as a team,” Waite opined. “The team was cutting, communicating, working well.”

The only goal in the Torrey Pines game was scored by Savannah Saunders, who had received a pass from Cummins. Woods recorded another shutout. “She’s a great keeper,” Waite remarked.

Waite noted that the Warriors were prone to letdowns after scoring, but that didn’t happen against Torrey Pines. “Finishing the game we were offensive and still shooting on goal. That was a good change,” Waite said.

The win against Torrey Pines put the Warriors into the CIF finals for the first time since Fallbrook’s 1991 championship season. Waite felt that the top seed, which gave the Warriors a first-round bye and a quarterfinal match against the eighth-seeded Barons, was a key reason for the Warriors’ ability to advance. “That made a huge difference because you play number eight,” she explained.

The top seed also gave Fallbrook home matches in the quarterfinals and semifinals.

Torrey Pines was seeded fourth. “Of any of my past few years, this is the team that could have gone as far as any of them,” Waite said.

While Waite would have preferred a championship, she considers a loss in the finals better than a loss in an earlier round. “I’d much rather be in the finals, and it was real exciting for the girls,” she noted. “No one likes to lose, but they handled it all pretty well.”

The Fallbrook players received runner-up medals after the game, which was played at Torrey Pines High School.

Bardeen, Cummins and Zeringue received senior all-star team recognition. Waite was disappointed that Cook was not also selected to that all-star team, but Cook received the sportsmanship award for the CIF playoffs. “At least she got some recognition,” Waite remarked.

Fallbrook finished the season with a record of 18-5-2. “It was great, and the girls should be very proud of themselves,” Waite said.