Warriors reach finals of Nike So Cal Classic

Fallbrook High School’s girls soccer team reached the finals of the Dec. 27 to 30 Nike Southern California Classic tournament in Oceanside.

The Warriors won three of their five matches, losing only to Oceanside High School both in pool play and in the finals.

“It was a good result. Very happy with the way they played,” said Fallbrook coach Kevin Koptieff. “They’re starting to play together, which is good.”

Four of Fallbrook’s starters are freshmen: Peyton Brittain, Sarah Foster, Kendle King, and Savannah McInerny.

“We have a very young team,” Koptieff said.

“The freshmen on the team, they’re playing very well,” Koptieff said. “They’ve got a lot of competitive experience they’re bringing to the team.”

Fallbrook’s captains this year are Kylie King and Cecilia Rodriguez.

“They did a really good job of leading the team,” Koptieff said.

Oceanside High School also hosted the tournament, although Fallbrook played some games at El Camino High School. The Warriors began the tournament Dec. 27 with a 4-2 victory over Calvin Christian at El Camino High School. All four of Fallbrook’s goals were scored by freshmen. Foster’s free kick opened the game’s scoring, and after the Crusaders scored the equalizer McInerny’s goal gave the Warriors a 2-1 halftime lead. Calvin Christian created a 2-2 tie with a goal in the second half, but Brittain’s goal gave Fallbrook a 3-2 lead and Foster closed out scoring with her second goal of the game.

Fallbrook’s second 4-2 win in the tournament occurred Dec. 28 against Mission Vista at El Camino. The Timberwolves scored first, but Stefanie Jones gave Fallbrook the equalizing goal with a shot taken from within the box. Mission Vista scored a goal off a cross for a 2-1 lead which became the halftime score.

In the second half Foster took a cross from Bri Person and scored Fallbrook’s second goal. When a ball bounced off a player in the box, McInerny took a shot from about 20 yards out which gave the Warriors a 3-2 lead. Kylie King shot from about 30 yards out and placed the ball into the upper corner for the game’s final goal.

“We had a lot of goals this week,” Koptieff said.

None of those goals were against Oceanside, which hosted the Warriors in a Dec. 29 game. The game was scoreless until the final minute, when a Pirates player shot the ball into the net.

“Great game,” Koptieff said.

Fallbrook then traveled to El Camino for another Dec. 29 game in which the Warriors faced Montgomery. Foster’s free kick from about 25 yards out went into the upper corner of the net for the game’s first goal, and Brittain scored off a cross later in the first half. The second half of the 2-0 game was scoreless.

“The second half the girls took plenty of shots on goal, just a bit unlucky, but we had possession most of the game,” Koptieff said.

Since the Warriors’ first-string goalkeeper was out of town and missed the tournament, backup goalkeeper Joy Morgan recorded the shutout.

“She did an excellent job in goal,” Koptieff said.

Morgan was assisted by defenders Rodriguez, Kendle King, Madison Ashbrook, and Marissa Lopez.

The win over Montgomery put Fallbrook into the finals against Oceanside, but the Pirates won that Dec. 30 game. Oceanside led 1-0 at halftime and won by a 5-0 score.

“They were a good team. We were running with them pretty well the first time we played them,” Koptieff said.

Fallbrook played the finals without Foster, who sprained her ankle in the Montgomery game.

“Hopefully we get her back by league start,” Koptieff said.

The Warriors open their Avocado East League season Jan. 17 at home against San Marcos. The tournament results gave Fallbrook a 4-8 record for the calendar year 2011 portion of the season.

See more photos of this tournament or comment on this story at

http://www.thevillagenews.com.